SINS OF HOSTILITY - Hatred, Variance, Emulations, Wrath, Strife, Seditions, Heresies, Envyings, and Murders.
WORK # 15: MURDERS
In Galatians 5:19-21, the Apostle Paul provides a comprehensive list of “works of the flesh”– sinful behaviors that stem from our fallen human nature. Among these serious transgressions, Paul mentions explicitly “murders.”
Biblical Definition: The Greek word “phonos” primarily means murder or slaughter and is used eight other times in the New Testament. It refers to the deliberate taking of a human life. In some contexts, it can also refer to homicide or killing in a broader sense.
Murder in Scripture: Beyond Physical Killing
In Matthew 15:19, Jesus identifies murder as one of the evils that proceed from the heart, defiling a person: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.”
This teaching reveals that murder isn't merely an external action but originates from corrupted internal desires and thoughts. Jesus consistently emphasized the condition of the heart as the true source of both righteous and sinful behavior. His radical reinterpretation of the Law pointed to the inner person, where motivations and intentions reside.
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