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🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 All right. Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Verity Baptist Church and take out your bulletin. We'll go through some announcements quickly. We're not going to go through everything again. We will go through some things, though. First, let's start. Are there any salvations that are unreported or salvations to count for the bulletin? Let's start in this section. Any unreported salvations? One. Anybody else? How about this section over here? Two. Three. All right. How about over here? Any salvations? All right. Sixth salvation to add to the bulletin. Of course, we do have soul winning this afternoon. We do have many upcoming activities to take note of in our bulletin. This Tuesday, we do have a soul winning marathon at UP Diliman from 2 to 5. Dinner will be provided by church. So that's going to be this Tuesday on April 1st. And that's not an April Fool's joke. We do have a soul winning marathon on April 1st. Anyways, then our first Sunday of the month, we do have our church service in Cavite. Then we have a lot of soul winning marathons coming up. Take note of Sunday, April 13th, the Lord's Supper. We do take the Lord's Supper one time per year. So if you can be there for that service, it would be a great service to be there. Also to take note of the second sermon here today, I'm going to be preaching on one of the Ten Commandments. I've been preaching through the Ten Commandments on Tuesdays in Pampanga, and I'm trying to time the preaching schedule to just finish the Ten Commandments right before our family comes up here. The beauty of the Ten Commandments, each sermon can kind of be a standalone sermon. So I'll be preaching on Thou Shalt Not Kill for this sermon coming up. But I believe that is it for announcements. We'll have Brother Marlon lead us in another song. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. To guide the future as He has the best, The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. It's time to take our Dyson offering. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. 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The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The Lord is calling out for every day. The next day when the sun is risen, you go to their house and you kill them. That is no longer self-defense, okay? And I'm not saying that is okay. It's like if it happens where they break into your house, it's like do what you do to defend whatever you need to do. But if somebody steals from your house, don't go to their house the next day and then kill that person, okay? That is not something that I'm saying is okay. That's not something the Bible is saying is okay. But one of the problems that we live in is that we don't follow God's laws. And since we don't follow God's laws, it will actually result in people becoming vigilantes because they want justice to be done. Because the thing is, if somebody stole something from my house and then I catch it, according to the Bible, they are going to restore fourfold or fivefold, so quite honestly I'd probably be happy. It's like I caught you with my computer. You owe me four, right? But of course, is that what takes place in 2025? Nope. And so as a result, a lot of people decide to be vigilantes. Why? Because justice is not actually being done. There's a famous story several years ago in the U.S. and my mind was, I remember this because this guy just got out of jail, I think. His name was Cain Velasquez and he was a former UFC heavyweight champion. And there was some injustice done to his family, I think, with a pedophile or whatever. And unfortunately, not much happens to pedophiles in 2025. They'll spend a few years in prison and get out or whatever. And it's like you go around the U.S. and you can sign up on this list and you can find out where all of the people that are on this list of the pedophiles are. But it's kind of scary that there's a lot of pedophiles in your own neighborhood that you live in. People that have been to prison for that exact crime and very little happens to them. What's the result? As a result, people become vigilantes where they actually go and try to do justice themselves because what the court is doing is not fair. It's not right, oftentimes. What the Bible says is if somebody breaks into your house and you kill them, there should be no punishment for you because you're defending your family, you're defending what you have. You have no idea what their intentions are. If somebody's willing to break into your house in the middle of the night, they might be willing to do something a lot worse than just that. Right? So self-defense is completely justified. Go to Romans 13. Romans chapter 13. Romans 13. Now, of course, it goes without saying that if somebody says, oh, it was self-defense, that doesn't necessarily mean that it was because obviously that's a good defense to say you're just defending yourself. But if it's legitimately self-defense, there's no punishment to you. You've done nothing wrong. You're defending yourself. I'm not going to go there for the sake of time, but we can think of the story of Moses where he's not really defending himself, but he's defending against somebody else who I presume the Egyptian is very likely to kill the Hebrew in that story. And, of course, if you break up that situation, they're very likely going to come and attack you, and you might have to defend yourself. And in that situation, I don't believe Moses to be wrong for that situation either. Another example is the government themselves actually killing criminals. And a lot of people will criticize the death penalty, and they'll say, but wait a minute, the Bible says thou shalt not kill. So they pick and choose the parts of the Bible they like. A guy commits murder in cold blood. Everybody knows it. And then it's like, but we can't put him to death because the Bible says thou shalt not kill. Well, the Bible also says put that person to death. That's the punishment for committing murder according to the Word of God. And what the Bible teaches is that God set up a system of government where the government is actually supposed to execute criminals for violating certain things. Here's what it says in Romans 13, verse 1. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt not praise it the same. Free as the minister of God to thee for good, but if thou do that which is evil, be afraid, for he beareth not the sword in vain, for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. What the Bible's saying is government was set up, and one of the major responsibilities is to actually put punishment to criminals that have broken the law. Now, in the Bible, there's different kinds of punishments. If somebody steals a sheep or an ox, they don't get put to death for that. They've got to restore that payment. But there are a lot of rules and commandments where they do actually get the death penalty. And, of course, we're preaching on thou shalt not kill, and one of the obvious ones is thou shalt not kill, because what the Bible teaches is an eye for an eye. You say, but wait a minute, you know, pastor, I thought Jesus said we shouldn't do an eye for an eye. That's Old Testament. We're no longer under the law. Jesus did not come to destroy the law, the Bible says in the Sermon on the Mount. Yes, in your personal life, if somebody does something to you, don't do that back to them. But the government was set up to actually execute certain criminals for certain things that they do, and one of the examples is for murder. The penalty for murder, according to the Bible, is the death penalty. Now, here's the thing. I don't think that there's any country in the world that is even close to living under the laws of God in 2025, and, you know, it's a shame, because as Christians, we believe in all of the law, don't we? We believe in God's rules. We believe that God's rules should be what governs our nation. I believe the safest time to live is going to be during the millennial reign of Christ. Beat your swords into plowshares, right? It's like you no longer need a sword to defend yourself because of the fact there's a strong punishment that is a deterrent for crime, and that punishment is going to actually be put out to people that do things. But here's the thing. In 2025, have a weapon to defend your family at your house. You say, why? Because it's not a safe place in 2025. In 2025, yeah, you know what? There are criminals. There are people that would break into your house and try to rob or steal from you, and you need to be able to defend yourself in 2025. Now, but in general, even though our government is not perfect, in general, our government, its laws are actually helpful to us that are abiding by the laws. We don't live in a communist country, right? If you live in a communist country under communist rule of a government, it's like, yeah, you know what? As a law-abiding citizen, you might actually be in danger because of the government itself. But by and large, when the government sets up rules in the Philippines, they're helpful. Even if they're not exactly what the Bible says, in general, they protect us. I remember before I moved to the Philippines, a lot of people were telling me how the Philippines is such a dangerous country. You don't want to go there. And it was interesting to me because it was from a mix of Americans and Filipinos because my wife is from the Philippines, and a lot of her relatives live in the U.S. now. But what's funny about this is if you look up charts of the most dangerous cities in the world to live in, guess what? The United States is near the top in a lot of those. A lot of cities in the U.S. are actually very dangerous to live in, according to statistics, and it's like, I mean, you don't have a problem living in a big city in the U.S. where there's a lot of violence, but they're so concerned about the Philippines. But the big thing that they were saying is, but the government's putting drug dealers to death. It's like, I'm not a drug dealer. It's like, I'm not out at midnight at clubs getting drunk and doing that stuff. I don't even like driving when it's dark. I try to get home when it's not dark, even during the week. It's like, I'm not out in those situations. Look, I'm not saying that there's no violence in the Philippines, but in general, if you're abiding by the law, you don't really have a reason to worry. And quite honestly, if you're right with God, you don't have a big reason to worry either. Now, here's the thing about this. I've been soul winning in the U.S. before because there are a lot more drugs in the U.S., and I've literally walked up to people when I'm going soul winning, and I don't really realize, and then once I get up there, I realize that they've got a lot of money, and they're dealing some sorts of drugs or whatever. But even in those situations, people really respect the Bible. They're afraid to say anything against somebody holding a Bible, and they're like, no, we wouldn't be interested, but God bless you, man. And it's like, they're selling drugs, but they're like, but God bless you, man. Now, the funniest and probably the most dangerous situation I was ever in, and this is a very weird situation, but I was going soul winning with my friend in West Virginia, and we're just going door to door in a trailer park going soul winning, and I knock on the door, and the person's like, come in. Now, look, when I go soul winning, if somebody says come in, I don't really like coming in because you never know what's there on the inside. Of course, I had a soul winning partner with me, so there's less fear, but still, I prefer to just wait there. And I was trying to talk through the door, and I guess they didn't hear me, and they were like, ah, come in, come in. And so then all of a sudden we look at each other and say, all right, so we'll come in. We come in. There's this guy, and he's not wearing a shirt. He's not wearing shorts. He just has boxers on, and he's got literally a briefcase of a lot of cash on the table. Clearly something was going on, and we get there, and he looks shocked, and he's like, I thought you were my mother. And I'm like, yeah, we're just inviting people to church, man. Have a good day, right? Obviously selling drugs or whatever. I have no idea. Probably selling drugs or whatever. We just kind of moved on. It's like, hey, that's not my battle to fight. I'm just trying to be a soul winner. There's kind of an understood agreement. It's like, we're inviting people to church. You're doing whatever. It's kind of like whatever. But we kept knocking in the neighborhood without any problem and that was the scariest thing in over 20 years of soul winning or the most strange I could think of. But honestly, we were completely fine. It is the government's job to put people to death that commit crimes, and unfortunately, when governments don't actually do that and don't follow the laws of God, it causes people to put it into their own hands, which is not what we should be doing. Go in your Bible to Acts 11. Maybe you've seen videos on YouTube before where there's a father and he's in a courtroom and his son has been murdered or his daughter has been murdered by some horrible person, and of course they're waiting for the judgment of the government in the court, and then the court will end up often giving them a pretty weak sentence for what they did that was wrong. And you'll see that father just try to surprise and jump in and try to kill that person, and I would not recommend somebody doing that, but I could understand that. I mean, if you're a father and your child has been harmed by some evil person and nothing is happening to them, and here's the reality in 2025 with most countries around the world, even when countries do have the death penalty and somebody gets sentenced to death, they never actually get put to death by the government. You look at highly profiled stories of serial killers and they will be in prison for decades, and it's like, what is there left to talk about? Why aren't they just being put to death? Probably the most famous I could think of is Jeffrey Dahmer, because Jeffrey Dahmer is, in my opinion, the most notorious and disgusting serial killer I've ever heard of, not even something I want to talk about just because there's kids in this room and everything, but it wasn't just that. I mean, the police literally found a lot of evidence inside of his room, and when he was caught, what Jeffrey Dahmer said is, for what I did, I deserve death. It's like, yeah, there's something we agree on, and all the evidence is there. He admitted it. Did you know that even though Jeffrey Dahmer got the death penalty, he wasn't put to death by the government. Jeffrey Dahmer was killed in prison because he and another prison inmate were bragging about being pedophiles, and another prison inmate beat them to death with some metal pole or something like that. He wasn't put to death by the government. You say, well, what's taking place? He's staying in prison, and the people that are working in the U.S. are using their tax dollars to keep a serial killer alive. And you look at that, and you're just thinking, what in the world? I was just listening to the Bible on my way up, and the Bible says, when sins against an evil work is not executed quickly, then the hearts of people are fully setting them to do evil. And the thing is, it's like, somebody's guilty. The evidence is there. It's like, okay, put them to death. Same day. You don't have to wait. You don't have to give them that really nice last meal or whatever. It's like, just put them to death. That doesn't really take place in 2025. But there are exceptions to thou shalt not kill, and one example is this. When the government puts a criminal to death, yeah, that's an exception. They did not break the sixth commandment because although the sixth commandment is saying thou shalt not kill, those are the literal words summed up in a short space. Use some common sense and realize that the heart of that law is to put people to death. Those are people that have in cold blood murdered someone. That's what it's saying by thou shalt not kill. It's referring to the government putting someone to death because they're a criminal that broke one of the commandments. Another instance you could think of is justified war. Now, I would say the vast majority of wars that are fought are not justified, and that is what it is. But in the Bible, you see justified wars, wars where God tells them to kill every human being because they're societies that are so sick and so twisted that you basically just have to put them out of existence, and you say, Pastor, do you believe in that? I believe in everything that God says. And so, yeah, I believe that they should be put to death. Now, I don't believe that you can apply that to the modern day and say, well, therefore, everybody in Russia or everybody in Palestine should be killed. I don't believe that at all, okay? But there are instances where God says execute every single person. Another obvious exception is the killing of animals. Now, this should be very obvious, but I've heard people say, well, I don't believe in eating animals because the Bible says thou shalt not kill. Now, I have yet to meet the vegetarian that was really a hardcore Bible believer that loved God and was a soul winner. I mean, maybe it's out there, so God bless that person if they're out there. The only thing I can think of, I know stories like if you go without meat for a while, your body has trouble putting it back into your body or whatever. But I don't know someone who's like a hardcore. I just care so much about protecting the ducks and the cows and the pigs. It just breaks my heart to see people kill an animal. It's something I would never do. It's like, well, number one, do you kill cockroaches, ants, and spiders? If not, then you're like a hardcore like Jain or Hindu or whatever over there. Go to India because there's plenty of religions over there that believe everything you're saying. But let's just see what the Bible says, okay? What does it say in Acts 11, verse 4? But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning and expounded it by order unto them, saying, I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, a certain vessel to send, as it had been a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners, and it came even to me. Acts 11, verse 6. Upon the which, when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered and saw four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air, and I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter, slay and eat. But I said, Not so, Lord, for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth. Now, Peter's not saying, God, I would never kill an animal. He's worried because in the Old Testament they had unclean animals, and of course pigs are unclean animals, the creeping things are unclean animals, and he's saying, you know, hey, I haven't eaten anything unclean. You know, I wouldn't do that. And then God's actually saying that, hey, that was a law for a time period that symbolized Jesus Christ, but now, slay and eat. And so, look, it's always been, it's not a violation of thou shalt not kill when you kill an animal. It's not what it's saying in Exodus chapter 20. Now, of course, I'm not saying that it's okay to just go out there and just kill every single animal you see. The Bible says, you know, I mean, that's kind of weird, okay? But I also think it's weird if you don't try to kill the insects in your house. And so, no, I don't feel guilty if I see a cockroach or I see an ant and then I stomp on it, right? Whenever I see cockroaches in our house, you know, we try to kill them. We have poison stuff for the cockroaches and everything. You say, why? Because they're disgusting creatures. And, no, I'm not violating thou shalt not kill because I killed a cockroach, okay? Now, the reason why this is important to understand the exceptions to thou shalt not kill, and I'm not saying I covered every single exception. I just kind of thought of various ones. But if we understand what the exceptions are to thou shalt not kill, we understand what is not an exception. Let me explain to you what is not an exception. Abortion. Abortion is murder. Abortion is a violation of thou shalt not kill the sixth commandment. And you know what I find very interesting? The same person that says, I would never kill a chicken, or it's like, man, I'm so concerned about chickens, like their living situation before, I mean, it's like I got to eat like the cage free because of the treatment of chickens or whatever, is the same person that justifies abortion. Is that not true? The same person that cares so much about an animal, cares very little about human life. And it's just like, you're saying, well, I would never kill an animal because thou shalt not kill. I don't believe in the suffering of animals. And look, I don't believe in torturing animals. I think that's weird. But it's like you're not violating thou shalt not kill by killing an animal. And I'm sorry, but yeah, you know what? I eat meat as part of my diet. And there's nothing wrong with it. In fact, if you go without eating meat, it is an unhealthy diet. God intends you to actually eat meat in your life. And the same person that would say, well, you know what, I would never kill an animal is also the same person that cares very little about human life. Even if that was your stance of being against killing animals and being vegetarian, shouldn't you care more about human life? You're going to hold up a sign in the street corner. It's like, you know, free the chickens. Wow, millions of babies are getting aborted all the time. And it happens a lot here in the Philippines. Now, people are not necessarily open about it, but it does happen a lot here in the Philippines, abortion, murdering babies inside of the womb, and it's like, hey, you know what? I want to stand up and defend. Thou shalt not kill. That's murder. Aborting a baby is murder. And whether it's the mom or whether it's the abortion doctor or whether it is the husband or boyfriend that coerces his girlfriend or wife into doing it, they're all guilty of murder. Now turn your Bible to Exodus 21. Exodus 21. Look, I understand I'm preaching to a lot of people, and I have no idea what decisions people made from a long time ago. And if there's somebody in this room that had an abortion a long time ago, I'm not preaching against you to try to make you feel bad about what you did decades ago. But you do have to be honest and realistic with what this actually is, and it's cold-blooded murder. That is what abortion actually is. It's murder. And it happens so often that, I mean, look, my fourth child that's going to be born here in less than two months is just as alive as Zeph, Christabel, and Ezra. You say, wow, why do you say that? Because he has a heartbeat, he has feet, he has hands. In what way is he not alive? I would say it's probably true with, maybe not as much with the ladies here, because maybe you're more aware, but as guys, when you go into that first ultrasound that you're at and you see the child inside, it's kind of shocking how it looks so much like a human being. It's like, wow, you can see everything. I mean, even though the baby is so small, yet the parts of the human are already there. It's not like, well, before they're born, they don't look like a human at all, and once they're delivered, all of a sudden they're like a full... No, it's like they have hands, they have a head, they have all these body parts before they're born. And so it's absurd to sit here and say that that child is not alive. Quite honestly, I don't believe that people... Because at least in America, it's like a 50-50 argument of being pro-life versus pro-choice and basically defending babies that are born and saying it's murder versus saying, wow, it's not really murder, it's the mom's choice or whatever. But look, I don't believe that people that say it's a woman's right to choose, I don't believe that they actually believe that that's not murder. You have to be some sort of idiot to actually believe that it's not a human being inside of the belly. Now, the Bible's very clear that life begins at conception, but even if you disagree and say, well, at implantation, how could you really argue when the baby has all the body parts and has a heartbeat beyond dispute, but it's not alive until it leaves the belly? That is absurd. And I don't think that people really actually believe that. But they want to defend their actions. You say, well, you know, pastor, you don't believe in a woman's right to choose. Yeah, I do believe in a woman's right to choose. You have a choice whether or not you get pregnant before you're married. And if you get pregnant before you get married, you keep the baby. You do the honorable thing. You have your choice before you get pregnant. Well, what about the situations where a woman ends up getting forced and it's against her will? Now, look, number one, that's a very rare situation. The vast majority of cases of people wanting to get an abortion is they got pregnant out of wedlock and they don't want to take care of the baby. But number two, it doesn't change the fact that it's murder. The act of killing a baby inside of the belly is murder. And, look, I am aware. Yeah, there are situations where, you know, a girl was attacked or whatever and it was not her fault. It's not that she was out at midnight getting drunk or whatever, but it's just it's not her fault at all. And, you know, I've heard stories like that, but you know what? You should still keep the baby. You say, why? Because of the fact it's murder to actually kill that baby. And here's the thing. Thou shalt not kill. Yeah, there's exceptions to it, but when it comes to aborting a baby, no, that's not an exception where you get to choose, well, before the baby's born, I get to make my choice. It's like, no, you had your choice before you got pregnant. And then if you get pregnant, you keep the child. And then make it as a wake-up call in your life saying, hey, you know what, I'm going to raise this child for the glory of God. I made mistakes. God forgive me. I ask you to forgive me and bless my life and help me do the best that I can. Now, those are the exceptions to thou shalt not kill. Killing animals, self-defense, and the things that I mentioned. What about the punishment for killing or the punishment for murder? Now, I mentioned it to you, but let's just see what the Bible says. Exodus 21, verse 12. He that smiteth a man so that he die shall be surely put to death. Isn't that just pretty clear? That if you kill someone, you get put to death. Now, yes, there's exceptions where that would not apply. Self-defense, not the same thing. I get it. But if you in cold blood murder someone, what is it? It's the death penalty. Right? And I was looking this up yesterday because my son is very inquisitive. He always asks me a lot of questions, and it makes me really realize there's a lot of things I don't know. And he was asking me, you know, he's like, Dad, what's the difference between, you know, first-degree murder and manslaughter and second-degree murder? I was like, all right, we'll go home and look on Google. Okay? I'm not sure. But at least according to what I read, it's like, you know, manslaughter, it's not premeditated. It wasn't planned out ahead of time. It's just kind of like in the heat of the moment you decide to do it, but it's not like it was planned out weeks in advance. Well, here's the thing. According to the Bible, it doesn't matter if you made the decision within five minutes before you did it versus five days before you did it. It's still the death penalty. Right? If you, in a fit of rage, you're driving and in a fit of rage, you get so mad and you go outside and, you know, stop that car or whatever, you go outside and then you just kill that person, it's like death penalty. That's what the Bible says. Now, here's the thing about this. If there's actually the death penalty for crimes, you know what takes place? Crimes are going to drastically decrease. You say, why? You say, why? Because people don't want to get put to death. When there's a strong punishment, it's going to be a deterrent for crime. Common sense is going to tell you that. I'm going to prove it to you biblically here in a second. But common sense is going to tell you that a strong punishment is a natural deterrent for crime being committed. Use some common sense. And look, I don't believe this should be the law because it's not in God's law, but I want you to use some common sense. Maybe the punishment for robbing a 7-Eleven was the death penalty. Do you think that people would rob 7-Elevens very much? Probably not. As big of a temptation as that Coca-Cola is, you're not going to risk your life. You'll probably just rob the store next door, right? You'll rob the Sorry, Sorry store and skip the 7-Eleven. You say, why? Because it's just too great of a punishment, I'm not willing to risk. Now, I'm not saying that that should be the death penalty for robbing a store. I don't believe that because that's not what the Bible says. But here's what I'm saying. If the punishment for murder was the death penalty, I think people would think twice before they actually ended up killing somebody. Now, go in your Bible to Genesis 9. Let me just prove this to you. Genesis 9. Look, obviously there are situations where somebody gets murdered and you don't necessarily know who did it, what's the situation. And yeah, there would be situations where you'd have to have some sort of trial and some sort of judgment would take place. But number one, trials should not be taking like 10 years. It's like, all right, well, they get to have like 25 appeals, right? It's like somebody gets the death penalty. It's like I was young and naïve and I thought when someone got the death penalty they'd get put to death, but then they get to appeal. And then they have to, it's absurd. It's like, no, that's not biblical. So yeah, having a trial could be something that is necessary in certain situations. But if you find out, hey, somebody's guilty, we've determined, the judgment is they committed murder, say, what's the punishment? It's not 20 years in prison. It's not five life sentences. It's the death penalty. They committed murder, they're guilty, they get put to death. And of course that's not the only punishment or the only crime mentioned in the Bible where you get the death penalty, but of course this is what we're preaching on, thou shalt not kill. And yeah, an eye for an eye is biblical. In our personal life, if somebody's rude to you, don't be rude back to them. But look, if somebody commits murder, yes, the government should put that person to death. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. You say, but wait a minute, if the government is putting all these people to death, I mean, that's so violent, it's so dangerous. Actually, that would make it a pretty safe place to live. You say, why? Because then less people would be committing murder. Why would we want to have a bunch of rapists and murderers out on the streets? And I don't have statistics in front of me, but a very high percentage of people that go to prison for a capital crime end up committing another capital crime right when they get out of prison. Right? Now let me just prove this to you from the Bible. Because notice this, a lot of people say this, well, you know, I don't believe in the death penalty because I don't believe that we need to follow the law of Moses. I think we're under grace, pastor. Well, number one, that statement alone makes no sense because no, Jesus didn't get rid of all the laws of God. It's still wrong to commit all of those laws. And yes, salvation has always been by grace through faith. And yes, we're not under the law, we're under grace, but God still expects us to be in obedience to the laws that God instituted from the book of Exodus. And unfortunately, governments are not actually using those laws as their standard of judgment. Look here in the Philippines at the history of the death penalty here in the Philippines. And it's around for a while, and a woman president comes in, she gets rid of it, a man president comes back, he brings it back, a woman president comes back, the woman president gets rid of it. I mean, that's just the way it's been. And I'm sorry if you get offended, but the Bible says it's a curse when women rule over you. You say, why? Because the sort of women that want to be in power are the sorts of ones that are going to be pro-abortion, supporting the LGBT, getting rid of the death penalty, and absolutely every single thing that the Bible speaks about. And the godly and God-fearing woman has a meek and quiet spirit, and she wouldn't want to be the one running the country, right? But, here's the thing, even if that statement were true, which it's not, because God did not get rid of the law, Jesus did not get rid of the law, even if that statement was true, you know what? The death penalty would still be around. But we're not under Moses! But the death penalty came before the law of Moses. You did read Genesis, didn't you? Genesis chapter 9. Genesis 9, verse 3, Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you, even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely your blood of your lives will I require, at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man. At the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoso shedeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made he man. What does the Bible say before the law of Moses is the punishment for murder? You get put to death. By the way, it's the same is true for animals as well. The Bible is saying, hey, if there's animals that have killed another human being, the animals should be put to death. The Bible even says when animals will attack and the owner knew it, he's actually culpable if he knew that his animal would attack and then something ends up happening where the animal kills someone, he also gets put to death. He also has that punishment because he knew about his animal and did nothing about it. And I'm just telling you, we really need to just get ourselves outside of the world that we live in and just stop and ask ourselves what would the world be like if we lived during the Bible times. So I'll tell you what, as a father of three young children, it's not the safest thing to have a bunch of dogs out running around the streets, but people are just so brainwashed by the TV and the movies to think that it's just like we ought to love animals just like we love humans. That is not what the Bible teaches. I'm not against you having a pet. When I was a kid, I had pets. We don't have pets now. When I was a kid, I had a dog, I had a turtle that ran away. That's another story. But I had pets as a kid and I love my pets. There's nothing wrong with having a pet. If you have a dog, if you have a sheep, as a common thing in the Bible mentions, if you have a turtle, if you have a fish or whatever, if you have a bird, whatever animal that you like, there's nothing wrong with that. But what the Bible teaches is that if somebody kills human life, they get the death penalty. Now, why is it that right after they got off the ark, God said, I've got a law for you? We don't have to wait until we get to the law of Moses. Let me just be very clear. If somebody commits murder, they get put to death. Why is it that God instituted that right after they got off the ark? Go to Genesis 4. Genesis 4. And I'm going to prove to you right now that a strong punishment is a deterrent to crime according to the Word of God. Genesis 4, verse 8. And Cain talked with Abel's brother, and it came to pass when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel's brother and slew him. Cain is the one who commits the first murder. Basically, Cain invented murder. Now, if we live in today's world, we kind of understand things. Like, if you get shot with a gun, you're probably going to die if you get shot toward the head or toward the heart. If you get stabbed with a sharp object through the heart or the neck or whatever, you're probably going to die. As far as I know, the weakest part of your head is the back of your head. Even in pro fighting, it's illegal to hit the back of the head. So if you got smashed with a stone on the back of your head, there's a good chance you're going to die or be in a coma or unconscious or whatever. Now, we don't know how Cain killed Abel. My best guess is that he took a huge rock or stone and just smashed it on the back of his brother's head and maybe hit him again or whatever. I don't really know. Here's the thing, though. We understand that if you do these sorts of things, there's a good chance someone's going to die. Somebody gets hit by a train, they're probably going to die. Somebody gets hit by a car, there's a good chance they're going to die or whatever. But Cain didn't necessarily fully understand that because of the fact he invented murder. He hadn't watched any TV shows or known any stories where this is taking place, and Cain is such an evil person that he's actually inventing murder. He's the first person to do it. Now, I don't have time to go there. If you cross-reference in 1 John, when God rebukes Cain, Cain still has a chance, according to Genesis, where it's like, You know what? You have a chance. But if you go through this line and walk through that door, sin lies at the door, meaning you're going to become a reprobate and you're going to be filled full of all of this sin. 1 John tells us that when he committed murder, he was of that wicked one. He was a reprobate already when he chose to kill Abel, but he was not a reprobate when he was rebuked by God. But he's getting very close to that door because he's so upset at what God tells him because he didn't accept his offering. But the point of this sermon is this. Cain killed Abel in Genesis 4, verse 8. And, of course, there's not a whole lot of human beings living at this time. It's pretty early, and you've already got a murder taking place. Well, we don't have to go that much further to see the next murder. Look down at verse 19. And Lamech took unto him two wives. The name of the one was Ada, and the name of the other Zilla. Then in verse 23, and Lamech said unto his wives. So Lamech, I presume, comes home from a hard day of work. He's like, man, I'm tired. And then he says, Ada, Zilla, can you sit down on the couch for a second? I've got something to tell you. Hear my voice, you wives of Lamech. Harken unto my speech, for I have slain a man to my wounding and a young man to my hurt. And he's like, I just wanted to let you know I committed murder today. Now, when you look at the story, you can kind of interpret it two ways. Is he referring to the same man in verse 23, or is he referring to two separate people? But he tells his wives, I'm a murderer. But, of course, he feels justified. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. And he feels so justified for murder, killing himself, by all indications, I mean, he just killed somebody in cold blood, and he's like, I committed murder, but I'm justified. And it's funny because when Cain committed murder, what did Cain say to God? The punishment is greater than I can bear. I'm going to be a vagabond. I'm going to be a fugitive. It's not fair. It's not right. You killed somebody. What are you talking about? But isn't that the madness in the world we live in today? Somebody commits murder, and then all of a sudden people are like, well, we need to give them another chance. They didn't get the proper medicine. They were lacking in vitamin B. That's why they killed somebody. They just needed some therapy. They needed another chance. They didn't have the same opportunity as you, pastor. You grew up in a good home. It's not their fault. We need to give them another chance. And then I hear people say stupid things like this, and I'm like, how big of an idiot are you? They committed murder. But the same people that want to give someone a million chances is the same person that's not actually living a God-fearing and Godly life. You say, pastor, why do you believe in the death penalty? Because I want protection in my life and the protection of my family from violent criminals. I don't want everybody to do that which is right in his own eyes because there's no punishment. What does the Bible show us at the end of Judges when every man does that which is right in his own eyes because there's no law, there's no government, nothing's taking place, no punishment? It ends up being the most disturbing chapters in the entire Bible. In my opinion, and you can agree or disagree because there's an argument to be said, I think Judges 19 is more disturbing than Genesis 19. Those are the two stories that you got of these Sodomites, and they're both pretty bad. But it's absurd. You say, why does that take place? Because there's no punishment, so everybody does that which is right in his own eyes. And they can just do whatever they want, no punishment. There's no punishment for murder here, so guess what takes place? I mean, Cain just does whatever he wants. He kills Abel because he's envious of his brother. And then Lamech just kills somebody. Go to Genesis chapter 6. Genesis chapter 6. Genesis chapter 6, verse 11. Genesis 6, verse 11. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt. For all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them, and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. When I think of violence, I think of rape and murder. And what was the world like before the flood? Because we've only got a few chapters in the Bible. What was it like? It was filled full of the LGBT. It was filled full of violence, murder, rape, and all of these horrible things. And right when they get off the ark, what does God say? By the way, if you kill somebody, you get put to death. What's the Bible trying to teach you? It's trying to teach you that a strong punishment is a deterrent for crime. It stops crimes from being committed. Is it going to stop every single one? No, it's not going to stop every single one, but it's going to stop a lot of them. Now turn your Bible to 1 Timothy 1. You say, well, pastor, I'm not a murderer. How does this sermon apply to me? Well, let me just help you out with how you can apply this idea of a strong punishment being a deterrent for crime. When you're raising your kids, spank your kids when they do wrong. You say why? Because it's a deterrent from them doing wrong. If your kids do wrong, if you give... Look, this is the reason why you spank. It's not that complicated. You spank due to disobedience. You don't spank because your kids accidentally spilled them out. You don't spank because they accidentally made a mess. You spank when they willfully disobey what you say. And look, you can agree or disagree with what I have to say, and that's fine. You can make your own decisions how you raise your kids or whatever. If you think I'm too strict as a parent, that's fine. Let me just help you out with something, though. My kids all have understood the word no before they turned one year old. So you say, pastor, when did you start spanking? Before they turned one year old. I can't believe you do that. If they're disobeying, what's the punishment? Spanking. Now look, when a young child disobeys, you don't give them as strong of a punishment, obviously. And obviously God gave a specific area on the body where you can inflict a lot of punishment without any sort of injury or anything such as that. But yeah, when my kids disobey, you say, what do you do, pastor? I spank them. And then I hug them and I say that I love them. And I explain why they got the spanking. You say, pastor, why do you do that? Well, number one, because it's what the Bible says. Very clearly. But number two, I don't want to have to be disciplining my kids every single day as they get older and older and older. I would rather deal with it at a young age, so it's much less likely I've got to deal with it at an older age. And I would rather deal with situations privately so I don't have to deal with them publicly. It's a lot easier to discipline your kids at home than it is when you're at a crowded place, at a restaurant, or at the mall or whatever. I would rather deal with the disobedience at home so they learn that, guess what? The same thing's going to happen if you go in public. That doesn't mean that my kids are perfect. Obviously my kids make mistakes. All kids do. I'm just saying a strong punishment is a deterrent from crime, and I just showed that to you in the Bible. And that is why the death penalty comes right after the ark, because before the earth was filled with violence. And if your kids are disobedient, you say, Well, what's the way to secret that? What's the way to get rid of that problem? The Bible says foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, and a lollipop will drive it far from them. Marshmallows will drive it far from them. All they need is a hallow hallow, and they'll be perfectly fine. Just take them to their favorite restaurant to get rid of the disobedience. That's the secret. I mean, if your kids are going to disobey and they're being bad, I'll take you to McDonald's. It's like, no, they get a spanking. You say, Why? Because it says it will drive it far from them. Now, look, obviously there's a proper way to spank, and as parents, to the best of our ability, we should not spank in rage or when we're extremely angry. And I believe after you spank your kids, you should hug them, you should say you love them and explain why they got the spanking. And to the best of my ability, to the best of my wife's ability, we try to do things properly, but obviously every parent sometimes loses their temper and is not perfect. But kids actually need the discipline. You say, Well, I don't know. I don't know if that punishment really works. Well, number one, there's plenty of verses that teach that in the Bible. And number two, I can just say this. I got spanked plenty when I was a kid. You say, What's the result? It makes you afraid of doing wrong. And I'm sure that there's plenty of people in this room that can think back and say, Yeah, you know, when I was a kid, I remember the spankings I got when I acted up. And what ends up taking place? It helps prevent you from crossing that line with your parents. So, point number one, we see the exceptions to killing. There are things that would be killing, but it would not violate thou shalt not kill. I mean, almost every day I kill a bug. It's not violating thou shalt not kill. Well, I don't think you should kill a bug. Well, if they stop being in my house, then I'll stop killing them. I don't kill cockroaches in public because I don't want to get my shoes dirty. But if they're inside my house, yeah, I'm going to kill them. Right? What's the punishment for breaking the sixth commandment? The punishment is the death penalty. What is the application to us, though? Because I hope that there's nobody in this room that is guilty of just cold-blooded murder. And I hope there's nobody in this room that in the future will be guilty of that. Now, it is certainly possible because we have a sinful flesh. We have free will. But we can also still apply this commandment to us to a lighter degree when it comes to inside of our heart hating somebody without a just cause. Okay? Now, first let me show you what it says in 1 Timothy 1, verse 8. But we know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully. And look, if you're abiding by the law, you would say the law is good. If you're not a breaker of the law, it does you good. But it says, knowing this, the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers. I mean, these are horrible crimes that are being committed. Imagine someone says, well, you know, I mean, I don't think that rapists should be punished very harshly. My immediate thought is, whoa, I mean, are you a rapist? Do you have a lot of rapists in your family? Why are you so sensitive about that? I don't get sensitive about things that I'm not guilty of. What we get sensitive about is when we're guilty of something. For example, if I preach, you need to read the Bible every day. Well, of course, that's what the Bible says. But if you're not reading the Bible, there's going to be a tendency in the flesh to try to make excuses and get mad. Well, I don't think you should have said that, or you don't know my situation. It's like, well, the thing is, though, if you are reading the Bible every day, you're not going to be so sensitive about it, right? But if you're guilty, you're going to be sensitive. And look, if you didn't read the Bible this morning, go home after soul winning. Go to soul winning, and after you go home, read the Bible, okay? Go to Matthew 5, we'll close up. So, I doubt, and I really hope no one's guilty of the actual crime, and it is a crime, of killing somebody in cold blood. I hope you'll never be guilty of that. But this law, thou shalt not kill, can still be applied to our lives to a lighter degree as well. Now, in Matthew 5, there's another story mentioned that I'm going to turn to, or another example mentioned by Jesus, where he talks about committing adultery, and he talks about lusting in your heart. You've committed adultery with her already in your heart. So you didn't literally commit adultery, which is obviously far worse, but inside of your heart, you thought that you had those thoughts, and the Bible says that is guilt. That is basically adultery of the heart. Now, with murder, it doesn't say the exact same thing, but here's what it says in verse 22, Matthew 5, verse 21. I've heard that it was said of them of old time, thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. And yeah, you know what? I think everybody's heard this before. Don't murder someone. I'm pretty sure everybody's aware, thou shalt not kill. And a lot of times you can hear a sermon like this, and you're like, yeah, I mean, I agree, preacher, but that doesn't apply to me at all. But yet, Jesus is going to make an application that is applicable to our lives, because it says here in verse 22, But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment, and whosoever shall say to his brother Arachis shall be in danger of the counsel, but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hellfire. Now, it's funny to me that people say that Jesus was getting rid of the law when actually he's making it more strict and more clear than in the Old Testament. He's like, hey, you've heard, don't kill in the Ten Commandments, but even if you've never murdered someone, I say to you, don't be angry at your brother without a cause in your heart. Now, when he's saying don't be angry without a cause, obviously if you're angry, there's a reason or a cause for it, but what he's saying is without a just cause. It's like, man, I'm so angry that somebody sat in my seat. I've got a cause to be angry. Yeah, but you don't have a just cause, okay? What the Bible's saying in Matthew 5 is a just cause to be angry with your brother. Now, there are times when anger is okay. There can be a reason why you'd be angry. Look, if somebody stole my car, I would be mad. If somebody did something to me, I would be mad, but there's a lot of things, and most of the time when we do get angry, it's not really a just reason why we're mad. Somebody cuts you off in traffic when you're driving, and you get very mad, and you're screaming, and you're slamming the horn, and you're screaming every single word that you can think of in your head and coming out of your mouth, and it's like, that person, if he does that again, I'm going to run him off the road. That's not a just cause, okay? Usually when we get mad, it's not a just reason why we're mad, and here's the thing. I'm not going to say because it doesn't say you're guilty of murder in the heart, although that's kind of what it's insinuating, but the Bible's saying that, hey, you know what? That is very wrong to be angry at somebody without a just cause when they've done nothing to actually deserve it. The Bible says, Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remember'st that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way. First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. What he's saying is, before you're trying to do some sort of service for God, make sure you get right with your fellow brother and sister in Christ. Now, actually, go to Ephesians 4. We'll close up there, Ephesians 4. I know I told you Matthew 5 would be the last place, but we haven't gotten to the ninth commandment, thou shalt not bear false witness, so I guess I accidentally lied. Ephesians 4, and we'll be done. Ephesians 4. This is added to my notes. Ephesians 4. I really want to make sure that we can walk away from every sermon and apply it to our lives, because obviously, thou shalt not kill. It's like I'm preaching about the punishment, and these are things probably most of you already understand, but how do we make this applicable to our lives? What he said in the Sermon on the Mount is not to be angry without a cause meaning a just cause or a just reason for being mad at somebody else. It's wrong. He said, but I didn't do anything. Everything starts from the heart, and if you allow something in the heart, it can actually become something that actually happens. The Bible says it's wrong even inside of your heart to hold this anger toward someone when they've done nothing to deserve it. Here's what it says in Ephesians 4, verse 30. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. The Bible says that we are sealed unto the day of redemption. Once we're saved, we're always saved. Eternal security. The Bible is very clear on this. And since we're sealed unto the day of redemption and indwell with the Holy Ghost, when we are breaking God's commandments, it actually grieves the Holy Spirit of God, the Bible says. The Holy Spirit is very sad that we're actually doing these things. And of course, it's kind of hard for us to fully comprehend the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit is not some sort of force, like in Star Wars or these weird Asian religions that are out there that are doing these weird things. It's like, no, I mean, the Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of the Godhead, and the Bible says you grieve the Holy Spirit of God when you're committing all these sins and doing wrong. And the Bible's giving you some examples here in verse 31 of some things that will grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice, and be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiven one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. You say, but Pastor, I'm mad, and it's justified, and I cannot get over it. Well, number one, the Bible teaches if you cannot get over your anger, you need to go to that person one on one and talk to them about it. And when I say one on one, that doesn't mean that you first tell everybody at church how much the person's a bad person, and then you deal with it. It means, no, you deal with it one on one because you're trying to restore fellowship. Right? But here's the thing. I mean, often in life, people do things that make you mad, and maybe they did wrong, but you know what the best thing to do is? Just forgive them. Well, they don't deserve it. Well, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you, do you deserve to be forgiven for what you've done against God? No. Because not only have you committed sins in the past, you're also going to be committing sins in the future. And yet God has given you eternal life, even knowing you're going to do those things in the future, and sin against Him a multitude of times, and yet He's forgiven you. And the Bible does teach that if you want God to be merciful to you, you need to be merciful to your fellow brother and sister. And I can say this, that in this chapter in Ephesians 4, it talks about basically being united in the local church. And look, you know, our church has been very blessed to grow quite a bit through the years, and God has really blessed our church, and we're growing. But if we're going to be successful as a church, we must always be united together as one. And that means small little things that you get mad about. It's like you need to forgive your other church members. Look, I don't know of anything right now that's going on at our church, but I'm also not an idiot and realize that things go on all the time, and I don't necessarily know all these things. But if you've got anything against your brother or sister in your heart right now, you need to make that decision to get it right. You say, why? Because if you let bitterness and anger just boil in your heart, number one, the Bible says it's wrong in the Sermon on the Mount, having anger without a cause. And number two, because when you allow bitterness and anger to control your life, it doesn't really affect the other person, does it? If you just dwell on how much you hate somebody else, that doesn't really affect their life. It affects your life. And I would say, just get over it. And whether you're right or wrong, let God be the judge of that, and just go on with your life, forgive someone no matter what they've done. Let's close in a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today, and thank you for allowing us to see and understand the sixth commandment in the Bible, God. And obviously help us to never be guilty of actually literally breaking this commandment, God. But help us also to apply it to our lives to forgive our brothers in Christ, not be angry without a just reason, God, toward other people, God. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.