Exodus 20:13

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions

1.   What is the theological basis for this commandment? In other words, how does it relate to God’s glory?

2.   Why should the verb in v. 13 be translated as “murder” rather than “kill”? What biblical distinctions are made between lawful and unlawful killing?

3.   How is this commandment applicable to slander and verbal abuse?

4.   How do Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount bring murder deep into the heart? How do they challenge us regarding envy, hatred, unresolved anger, lack of reconciliation, and bitterness?

5.   How do accidents factor into this commandment? In what ways can we be negligent with human life?

6.   How is obeying this commandment fulfilled in Christlike love? How does it relate to selfishness?

7.   As we think about spiritual warfare, how does it help us to know that Satan is “a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44)?

References: Genesis 1:26-28; 2:7, 22; Genesis 9:5-6; Romans 13:4; Exodus 22:2-3; Numbers 35:9-34; Matthew 5:21-24; Genesis 4:5; 37:4, 8, 18; James 3:16; Ephesians 4:26; 1 John 3:14-18; Deuteronomy 19:5; Exodus 21:28-29; Philippians 2:3-4; John 8:44.