Henry Krabbendam - James - World Evangelical Alliance

cal and penal Mosaic laws it is no surprise that we do not find a trace of it in either the
Sermon of the Mount or in James.
What follows now is a short outline of the biblical content of the Sixth Commandment.
A solid grasp of its substance and implications will be of great assistance
in, and go a long way toward the construction of additional case laws. The threefold
standard understanding of the Ten Commandments should not be forgotten. First, both
the positive and the negative formulation of a commandment imply their opposite.
Second, a specific formulation implies all that is related to it. Third, the general formulation
calls for specific applications to a wide variety of situations. Only these
“guidelines” in the understanding of the Ten Commandments already invite eager
sanctified imagination to draw up pertinent case laws! Furthermore, in the study of the
meaning and application of a commandment one must always keep four things in
mind: (1) the OT teaching, (2) the depth perspective of the Sermon on the Mount, (3)
the dynamics of love, and (4) the usage of all this by James. The first three together
make up the “law of Christ.” The last one is an inerrant application of this law. It is
now up to the Church to follow in James’ footsteps and to continue James’ practice.
Now on to a summary outline of the Sixth Commandment.
1. The Sixth Commandment, “You shall not murder,” does not only condemn the
act of murder (Ex. 20:13; Gal. 5:21), but also hatred as the motivation of the heart (Mt.
5:22; Gal. 5:20).
2. The Sixth Commandment does not only enjoin everyone, negatively, to abstain
from the destruction of life (Ex. 20:13; Prov. 20:22; Rom. 12:19), but also, positively,
to promote it (Prov. 25:21; Mt. 25:35-36; 1 Pet. 3:8-9).
3. The Sixth Commandment is not only a matter of action (Ex. 20:13) or motivation
(Mt. 5:20), but also a matter of reaction (Prov. 15:1; Rom. 12:21; 1 Pet. 2:20-21;
3:9; Jam.5:7ff).
4. The Sixth Commandment not only pertains to the physical well-being (Prov.
24:11-12), but also to the spiritual life of the neighbor (Ezek. 33:1-9; Prov. 11:30; Jam.
5:20).
5. The Sixth Commandment is not only necessary (Ex. 20:13), but also urgent
(Mt. 5:25-26; Rev. 22:15).
It does not take a lot of imagination to determine that these five theses, rooted in
the Decalogue, and reflective of the Sermon on the Mount, have a breadth and a depth
that make it relatively simple to apply their content in a vast array of case laws to a
vast array of situations.
For a treatment of the Decalogue that goes at length into the exposition of the
Ten Commandments, and shows the applicatory force of each of these Ten Covenant
Words, I heartily recommend J. Douma, The Ten Commandments (Phillipsburg, P & R
Publishing, 1996), one of the very few monumental volumes of recent and modern
vintage. It follows the direction indicated by James and walks in his footsteps.
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