The Lutheran Hour
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"Thou Shalt Not Murder"
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Text: Matthew 19:20 "The young man said to Him, 'All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?'"
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Prayer: Blessed Lord Jesus, in simple events in the Bible, You demonstrate Your love for little children. With a reference to severe judgment, You warned all who prevent infants from coming unto You. Today, heavenly Father, millions of the helpless unborn have been murdered. Intervene, O Lord, on behalf of all those who are helpless and without hope. You, O Lord, are the friend of the helpless. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
One day, the Bible says, a young man came to Jesus and asked this question: “Teacher, what good thing shall I do so that I may obtain eternal life?”
Jesus looked at the young man and said, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life then keep the commandments.”
The young man then said to Jesus, “Which ones?”
Jesus responded, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; honor your father and mother; and love your neighbor as yourself.” Of course, here Jesus was here referring to the Ten Commandments.
The young man, however, was still not satisfied. So he said to Jesus, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?”
Well, most of us would probably feel the same way. We keep the commandments, don’t we? At least most of them.
But, now let’s ask the really hard question. Do we really keep all the commandments? For example, the Fifth Commandment says, “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” In his clear and compelling explanation of this Fifth Commandment, Martin Luther says, “We should fear and love God so we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body but also help and support him in every physical need.”
Now comes that real “big” question: Who is our neighbor?
Let’s be honest, shall we? Our neighbors are all those who live next to us in our communities or even in the same city or the same state, or even the same province. In fact, our neighbor is anyone who is in need!
Now, if this is true, you and I have some really big things to do for the Lord and for our neighbor! We have a great responsibility. You see, secular newspapers and secular studies now tell us that over 113,000 unborn children are murdered in the United States through abortion every month. These unborn children are all our neighbors just like all our other neighbors are. If we are not concerned about the murder of the unborn, we are sinning against the Fifth Commandment. We are not defending the life of our neighbor. You see, it is often not so much what we do, but what we do not do that causes us to break and sin against God’s commandments.
For example, all of us know it is a sin to gossip. And, probably many of us would say, well, we don’t gossip, or at least, not all that much. However, again, it is not simply that God does not want us to gossip. Pleasing God means a lot more than that. Fulfilling the Eighth Commandment means more than that! Fulfilling the Eighth Commandment means that God desires you and me to defend all those who are being gossiped about. Again, it is often not what we do — but what we fail to do that is so sinful.
Now, let’s turn back to the killing of the unborn. To be unconcerned about the killing of the unborn is like those Jesus spoke about who, when they were traveling on a road in Palestine and when they saw a wounded dying man, passed by on the other side. To be sure, these travelers had not beaten this man up to the point of death. However, for these travelers not to stop to care for this dying man was as good as abandoning him to death. In the same way, many of us may not be directly involved in the horrendous sin of abortion. However, through our indifference, we participate in the death of millions. And in the same way, we sin against God’s Fifth Commandment.
So, if the devil has tempted you to believe the unborn baby is not a person, then consider carefully what the apostle Luke recorded in his gospel.
In the first chapter of St. Luke we read that just before Jesus was born, an angel visited Mary. This angel told Mary that she would conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit and that she, Mary, would become the mother of Jesus.
The Bible writes thus, “The angel answered and said to Mary, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason, the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.'”
Oh! Mary was so thrilled! She was so overwhelmed she was “beside herself,” as we say, that she would be the mother of Jesus, the long promised Savior of the world.
Then, the angel said to Mary: “Behold, your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son, and she is now in her sixth month.” This was, of course, the conception of John the Baptist.
This good news made Mary so happy the Bible tells us she “arose and went with haste to the hill country to visit her cousin Elizabeth” who was six months pregnant with John the Baptist.
Now, listen also to this. You see, the Bible says when Mary arrived at the home of her cousin Elizabeth, and “when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby [the unborn John the Baptist] leaped inside the womb of Elizabeth.”
Now, arguments may continue to rage and partisan groups may continue to set forth their opinions about whether or not the unborn is a person. The Bible, however, is clear. John the Baptist’s response to Mary’s greeting when he was still in the womb shows without question there is human life.
This is also why there is so much guilt today worldwide, even in pagan countries, surrounding the killing of the unborn. For example, less than one percent of Japan’s population is Christian — less than one percent! And yet, the guilt of abortions is widespread in Japanese culture.
On Jan. 25, 1996, on its front page, the New York Times showed a dramatic and unforgettable photo of non-Christian mothers in Japan, putting tiny monuments to their aborted children in Buddhist temples. This article states these monuments personify the forgone baby. One lady, a Miss Sugimoto said: “I think I’ve done something bad enough to be cursed.” Now isn’t this amazing! Japan is not even a Christian nation. And yet, women who have had abortions are burdened horribly with guilt.
Now one is led to ask, “If this is really the attitude among women even in non-Christian Japan, why does the killing of the unborn continue?” Well, one Japanese gynecologist said, “The sorrow of these women for their aborted babies is surpassed by their desire to maintain a good relationship with their husband.”
Finally, the New York Times, on its front page, quotes one Japanese as saying, “Even though here in Japan everyone believes abortion is a woman’s own business, it is striking how uneasy many of these same women are after exercising their right to abortion.”
Oh, abortion is indeed that stone–that pebble–which when thrown into the pool of society produces millions and millions of guilt ripples. First, the mother is impacted. Then, the father is touched. Then if they hear about it–and often they do not–relatives feel ashamed. Clergy and congregations anguish, and the ripples of guilt and shame go on and on and on.
This is also why the only hope for this most difficult issue is the “wake up” call of God’s Law and the cleansing and healing of God’s Holy Gospel. God’s Fifth Commandment says “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” This includes the killing of the unborn.
But now, here is the rest of the story. God’s Gospel of mercy and forgiveness in Jesus Christ covers the sin of abortion. This Gospel message of healing and hope has been at the heart and the center of every message on this broadcast for over 70 years.
God’s law speaks to all of us, including those of us who have actively participated in this sinful act. But, it also includes those of us who have sinned passively, by knowing about the holocaust of the killing of the unborn, but have neither spoken up against it or have not prayed that God would intervene and save as many of the innocent unborn as possible. Now, let’s make one thing clear. We are not advocating violence. Violence only begets more violence, and this is also a sin against God.
God’s Gospel not only assures us of forgiveness of our active or passive sins, but God’s holy Gospel enables us to turn from our sin unto life and an attitude that protects our helpless neighbor and pleases God.
So then, friends, let your hearts hear the Good News of God’s forgiveness. In the New Testament letter to Titus, we read that Jesus “gave Himself for us, so that He might redeem us from every lawless deed “including our active or our passive participation in abortion (Titus 2:1).
St. Paul writes, “In Him [in Jesus] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of God’s grace” (Ephesians 1:7-8).
My friends, in Psalm 103, God says He is the One who pardons you and the One who heals you from all your sin. The apostle John writes, “If you confess your sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive you all of your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
So, as we have said before and as we will continue to say many more times on this program, when you are troubled by what you have done or troubled by what you have not done, then turn again and again to the Scriptures. Yes, read regularly Psalm 51. With a repentant heart and expecting God’s grace and mercy in Jesus Christ, say with the psalmist:
“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy loving kindness; according unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. I acknowledge my transgressions; and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee, O Lord, Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in Thy sight. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Hide Thy face from my sins and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me, O Lord, the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free spirit.”
We pray: O Lord, for confused young people who are caught in it; for parents who feel at least somewhat responsible for it; and for people at every level of society who are touched by it, the demonic grip of guilt that inevitably follows the killing of the unborn can be broken only by the power of Your Holy Gospel based upon Christ’s redeeming death and His triumphant resurrection from the dead.
O Lord, we pray: forgive, console, encourage, and strengthen all of our listeners through this unconditional forgiveness. Prompt each of us to sincere repentance and then heal, help, and save us by Your Holy Gospel of mercy and grace. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for January 20, 2002
ANNOUNCER: Is an embryo my neighbor? I’m Mark Eischer. Joining me in the studio today is Dr. Robert Weise. He’s the Lutheran Charities Chair of Pastoral Ministries and Life Sciences at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Dr. Weise, in late November researchers in Massachusetts claimed to have cloned a human embryo by chemically reprogramming a human egg cell. What new step has been taken here?
WEISE: The newest step they have taken from a scientific perspective is to be the first ones to report the actual non-sexual or asexual reproduction of a human being in a Petri dish.
ANNOUNCER: What is significant about this development?
WEISE: First, from a scientific viewpoint, Dr. Cibelli and his group at Advanced Cell Technology in Worchester, Mass., believe the cloning of a human embryo, that is, non-sexual or asexual reproduction as you have described it, will provide additional tissue and organs for a world lacking in organ transplantations. From a theological perspective, which is the most important from our viewpoint, is that once again we are finding the degradation of humanity by the killing of a human embryo to save a human life.
ANNOUNCER: Can we consider this to be conception and can we consider what results as a human being?
WEISE: From the standpoint of dealing with what is called parthenogenesis, which simply means “that which comes back on itself,” the woman’s egg which has 46 chromosomes has everything to make a human being. If we believe the human embryo is a human being and if we lose respect for one part of human life, i.e., the human embryo, then we’re going to lose respect for all of human life along its whole process of development. The process starts from the zygotes to the fertilized egg to the embryo to the fetus to the unborn being, again to the newborn to the adult to the older adult.
ANNOUNCER: In his message, Dr. Schulz talked about the positive application of the commandments, that we should seek to help our neighbor. How does that apply here?
WEISE: Once again, I’m going to take us back to our foundations. First, we believe the human embryo is a human being. Second, as Christians we love God and love our neighbor as ourselves Third, we are neighbor to the unborn and as neighbor to the unborn based on what Dr. Schulz shared with your audience, the explanation to the Fifth Commandment says we are to fear, love, and trust in God, that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor but help, befriend, and support them in every bodily need. That includes the unborn.
ANNOUNCER: Are there any morally acceptable alternatives?
WEISE: Of course. There are adult stem cells. These are stem cells found in bone marrow, in tooth pulp, in umbilical cords. They are found in the placenta. These are cells that are very immature and can be turned on to form nerve cells. They can be turned on to form various blood types, and this has already been done with certain blood cells that have been turned into nerve cells. It is not permissible to go ahead at the expense of the tiniest of human beings, and destroy them so adults may benefit by their destruction and death. This not only violates the Scriptural commandment of “do not murder,” it certainly violates the First Commandment of being idolatrous, of taking human life and lifting it up above God’s Word. It also violates the medical ethic that most physicians, not all, take when they become a physician: the Hippocratic oath. It says “do no harm.”
ANNOUNCER: Thank you. We’ve been talking with Dr. Robert Weise, Lutheran Charities Chair of Pastoral Ministries and Life Sciences at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.