The Fifth Commandment affirms the absolute sanctity of human life, created in the image of God and worthy of protection at every stage. Jesus teaches that this commandment forbids not only physical murder but also the murderous intentions of the heart. Living this commandment requires honoring both one’s own life and the lives of others, ordering spiritual and bodily health rightly, and rejecting practices that degrade human dignity.

Deuteronomy 5:17

“You shall not kill.”

Matthew 5:21–22

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment…”

Jesus and the deepening of the commandment

Jesus affirms and confirms the commandment, but also deepens it, as He repeatedly does in the New Testament.
The commandment must be interpreted through love of neighbor and proper love of oneself.
The Ten Commandments are categorical commandments: each one encompasses an entire moral category.
This commandment includes the whole biblical teaching on the nature of human life.

The sacredness of human life

The commandment reveals that human life is intrinsically sacred.
Life is not sacred merely because God created all life, but because human beings were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26).
No other form of life has been created with this unique dignity.
Human beings have a special relationship with God, their Creator, who is the origin and end of their lives.
God is the Lord of all human life, and no one has the right to directly destroy an innocent human being.

Dignity and holiness

Human dignity comes from the divine.
God imparts holiness to human life.
The prohibition against murder is grounded in this holiness and dignity of life.

What murder is

Murder is the direct, voluntary, and unjust taking of human life.
It is considered a grave and mortal sin.
While all sin is sin, not all sins are equal in effect or gravity.
Murder destroys human life in the temporal order and places the soul in serious spiritual danger.

Differences among sins

All sins are equal in that they are offenses against God.
However, they are not equal in cause, effect, or seriousness.
Murder is distinct because of the magnitude of its effect: the destruction of sacred human life.

Forms of murder

1. Genocide

The killing of an ethnic group or people simply because they belong to that group.
Example: the Jewish Holocaust under the Nazi regime.

2. Abortion

The unjust killing of an unborn human being from conception to birth.
It is a human life distinct from the mother’s body.
It is murder because it is the unjust taking of sacred human life.

3. Suicide

Self-murder.
It is grave and serious and must not be taken lightly.
Life does not belong to us; God is the author and finisher of life.
No one has the right to take their own life.

4. Euthanasia

Killing the disabled, the sick, or the dying.
It is unjust because all human life is sacred regardless of condition.
God grants grace to endure suffering and to use it for sanctification.

Sins of homicidal intent

Jesus teaches that it is not enough to avoid physical murder; one can also murder in the heart.
Unjust anger is interior murder.

Includes:

Physical abuse
Emotional abuse
Relational abandonment
Willful neglect
Reckless endangerment
God is concerned not only with actions but with the intentions of the heart.
Evil intention is the root of evil.
God takes intentions seriously.

Self-defense

Does the prohibition of murder mean one may never take a life?
Defending one’s own life is legitimate and is not murder, even if the aggressor dies.
Loving one’s neighbor also includes loving and protecting oneself.
“Turning the other cheek” is a counsel, not an absolute command.
There is a distinction between counsel and command.

Defense of others

Defending vulnerable persons under our care is a moral duty.
Parents have the duty to protect their children.
This duty forms the foundation of family, society, and government.

The role of the State

The State has the responsibility to protect the right to life of its citizens.
It may justly use lethal force to protect that right.
This has been recognized by Christianity throughout history.

Spiritual and bodily health

We are responsible for our spiritual and physical health.
Spiritual health is more important than physical health.
The error of Manichaeism teaches that the body is evil; Christianity rejects this.
There is a proper order: spirit → soul → body.

The danger of body worship

Our culture exalts the body above the soul.
Caring for the body is not wrong, but it is wrong when done at the expense of spiritual life.
It is meaningless to be physically strong and spiritually weak.
God looks first at the heart (Revelation 3 — Laodicea).

Drugs and drunkenness

Drug use damages both body and soul.
Scripture condemns drunkenness (1 Corinthians 6:9; Galatians 5:21).
Drunkenness is intrinsically evil because it distorts the image of God.
Legal does not mean moral.
Christian morality is grounded in God’s Word, not culture.