Posted by
Corthell on Sunday, March 21, 2010 7:19:16 AM
''In Jeremiah 1:5, the Bible again shows that God has a plan for each of us, before our birth. God declares: "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world." As Christians, we believe we
have absolute truth from God, and we develop our worldview from what the Bible teaches. As I said in a previous column, we do not seek to conform and accommodate the unchanging truths of Scripture to our changing culture, but rather seek to change our culture to conform to what the Bible teaches.
Commandment number six of the Ten Commandments says: "You must not kill" (Exodus 20:13).
A more accurate translation of Exodus 20:13 would read, "You shall not commit murder." This commandment obviously forbids the taking of another human life for no justifiable reason.
I can't go into depth here in this column, but suffice it to say that the Bible does not condemn all killing. Numbers 35 plainly states the difference God sets between killing and murder. All murder, of course, is killing, but not all killing is necessarily murder. There are times when death is permissible (though not desirable). Self-defense is one example. If someone were to break into your house with the intent of killing you or your family, Scripture allows you to defend yourself.
When our military or law enforcement officers strike at terrorists who have attacked our nation, that is justifiable killing. It is not murder; it is self-defense.
Some pacifists will say, "When we kill terrorists we're just as bad as they are, because all killing is sin." This is called the "moral equivalency" approach. I would respond with this question: Was it wrong to use force to stop the Nazis from destroying the Jews? No, it was a just use of force to save innocent lives.
God has established order and laws by which a culture ought to be governed. There will always be those who break those laws, and there must be repercussions.
In Romans 13, the apostle declares that God Himself has raised up the military and the police to do His work.
What does the Bible mean when it says, "You shall not murder"? The Hebrew term means "to dash in pieces." It is never used to describe the death of an animal, an opponent in war or capital punishment.
Speaking of capital punishment, it was established by God Himself, many years before the Ten Commandments. Way back in the early chapters of the book of Genesis, God said: "Murder is forbidden … any person who murders must be killed. Yes, you must execute anyone who murders another person, for to kill a person is to kill a living being made in God's image" (Genesis 9:5, 6 NLT). http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=129737