There is one murder that far surpasses every other murder ever committed. That particular murder occurred when Jesus Christ was crucified.
Murder is an act of hatred originating in the heart. Man, however, is not the inventor of murder. It is, in fact, the will and work of Satan.
Many who understand the wickedness involved in murder fail to realize that the scripture also warns “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.”
A tremendous spiritual and physical battle wages around the value of life and the determination of when life begins. Unfortunately, Christians have incorporated the unscriptural terminology of the world by allowing the opposition to define these most important matters. This is especially true concerning the birth of a child. According to the Bible, a woman who is expecting is said to be “with child” (Genesis 16:11; Matthew 1:18). Modern terminology removes the direct association of the unborn to life. Sadly, the termination of the unborn life is simply labeled as an “abortion” rather than murder (the ungodly shedding of innocent blood). To abort means the cancellation of a mission. A woman who is “with child” has another living soul “with” her. As time progresses in the child’s development within the womb, the mother becomes “great with child” (Luke 2:5) until she is “ready to be delivered” (Revelation 12:4; see also 1 Samuel 4:19; Isaiah 26:17).
Psalm 119 is the longest verse-count passage (psalm or chapter) in God’s word. Interestingly, that particular psalm focuses upon one of God’s greatest gifts ever provided for mankind, His precious word. The second longest verse-count passage is Numbers chapter 7. Interestingly, God’s word focuses this chapter upon mankind giving gifts back to God. The passage could have been dramatically shortened had God chosen to give fewer of the details. However, the Lord chose to specifically delineate each of the gifts received from each tribe. Why? Maybe God wanted to emphasize the importance of every gift from every individual given to Him. No gift represented a lesser degree of importance to God Almighty. God does not need anything from man (Psalm 50:7-15) yet finds great pleasure in receiving gifts from those whom He loves.
Why should we forgive others? At first glance, we might think we should do so out of the goodness of our heart. Yet, there must be a deeper and more foundational reason for our forgiveness. Fundamentally, our forgiveness should be centered upon the Lord and His forgiveness toward us. Read Ephesians 4:32 above again. What should motivate our complete forgiveness of others? Is it not because we have been completely forgiven by the Lord? Look closely and you will see that God forgave us “for Christ’s sake.” If God forgave you for the sake of His Son, should this not also be the basis of our forgiveness of others? John confirmed this foundational truth of God’s forgiveness in his first epistle when he said, “. . . your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake” (1 John 2:12). When we forgive others, we do so “for Christ’s sake.” Forgiving others because you have been forgiven illustrates God's mercy to others.
The believer’s relationship with God is twofold consisting of a positional relationship and one of practice. Positionally, the believer enjoys Christ’s imputed righteousness (Romans 4:6-8). In this position, the believer has been forgiven of all trespasses (past, present, and future) (Colossians 2:13). John confirmed this truth as he wrote to believers saying that their sins were already forgiven (1 John 2:12). Because of God's complete forgiveness, sins can never and will never affect a man’s position in Christ. However, man must also consider his practice (his daily walk before the Lord).The sins that cannot harm a man’s position in Christ can adversely hinder his fellowship with the Lord. Though all our sins are forgiven, we still should daily confess our sins to the Lord in order to keep our fellowship right (1 John 1:9).
God cannot allow man to simply sin with impunity because of His holy and righteous character that demands a righteous judgment. Yet, the Bible proclaims that the Lord is “good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon” Him (Psalm 86:5). It is important to realize that the Lord’s ultimate desire involves His desire to forgive a man’s sins. Therefore, the key to a relationship with the Creator involves trusting wholly in God’s provision. This is what the Bible means by, “The Lord is . . . not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Punishment for sin is death and man’s singular hope rests in God’s mercy. Based upon this readiness to forgive, the Father sent His only begotten Son to shed His blood for the sins of the world. Salvation is not the end all for forgiveness. Even after salvation, the Lord desires for man to remain in close fellowship with Him, but sin separates. The Bible again holds the key when it says that the Lord “is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). We are clean at salvation but must look to God for an ongoing cleansing.
