Lutheranism 101 - Part 13- The Fifth Commandment

A man shoots another man in the head and the man dies. A doctor scrambles an unborn baby in the womb. A woman gives a sick loved one a mixture of drugs to put him out of his misery. A person puts a gun to their head and pulls the trigger. A man lashes out at his brother saying, "I wish you were dead." What do all these people have in common? They have all just committed murder and broke the Fifth Commandment.
The Fifth Commandment deals with the gift of life and it is stated very simply, "You shall not murder." Included in this commandment are abortion, euthanasia and suicide. The first murder was of course Cain killing his brother Abel. And that is what we tend to think that murder is. But it is much more than that. We see for instance that David murdered Uriah through others. He didn't do it himself, but he set it up. We also can murder others through carelessness, like drunk drving.
Abortion is another way we commit murder. We as a church body have always been pro-life. The media likes to protray us a anti-abortion and those on the opposite side as pro-choice. There is no doubt that we are anti-abortion, but more than that we want life valued in all respects. For those supporting the pro-choice side they have to ask themselves does the baby get to make a choice? Scripture shows us that life begins as conception or even before. Just take a look at Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139:16 and Luke 1:41-44. These verses and others are why we say that abortion is nothing other than cold blooded murder.
Euthanasia is also considered murder. The word itself means good death. Thanatos is the Greek word for death and Eu means good in Greek. Euthanasia is the taking of someone's life when it is not considered worth living any more. This would involve cases such as people in extreme pain who also may be in the process of dying. It can also include the severely handicapped or those who are considered helpless. Euthanasia is not taking grandma off a machine in the hosiptal when the doctors have said that there is no or little chance of recovery. That is just giving her a chance to breathe on her own or die naturally. Euthanasia is deliberately taking an action, whether it is with drugs, a plastic bag, or something such as a handgun that would take the person's life before God himself takes them home. The intent is to take that person's life or put them out of their misery, that is euthanasia. On the other hand taking someone off a ventilator or stopping the giving of some drugs or even at times removing a feeding tube when there is no or little hope of recovery, is not euthanasia. That is just allowing the person to die a natural death.
Suicide is also murder. God has our times in his hands and it is only to be ended by him. At the same time it is not the unpardonable sin. We never know what is going through the mind of someone who commits suicide. So we put them in the hands of a loving God and leave it at that.
Now we may look at the stuff above and say well I have never done any of that. But this commandment also involves our thoughts and our words. We break this commandment when we hate others or even wish them dead.
Now to another controversial part of the commandment. There is an authority that has the right to take human life. That is the government. They have the authority to do this because they are God's servant. Therefore they have the right to execute criminals and fight just wars. That is why governments have the right to practice capital punishment. They don't have to, but they can make laws that allow them to do that. We also teach that soldiers fighting in a war are not breaking this commandment when they kill the enemy. They are acting under the orders of the government and have the right and even the obligation to do so.
So what does God require of us in the commandment? God wants us to help and support our neighbor in every bodily need. He also wants us to be good and forgiving of our neighbor. He also wants us to help our neighbor avoid things that are harmful to him, such as drugs and other substances.

Here are some verses for you: Genesis 9:6; Matthew 26:52; Proverbs 31:8; Acts 17:25; Luke 12:22; Romans 12:19; Matthew 5:22; 1 John 3:15; Ephesians 4:26; Romans 13:4; Romans 12:20; Matthew 6:15; 2 Corinthians 7:1

Here are questions for you. How would a soldier violate this commandment in a war zone? What is euthanasia and what is not euthanasia? What are some practical ways that we can address the abortion issue?

Pastor Fred