60. How do we fear and love God in keeping the Fifth Commandment?
First, we fear and love God by not harming our neighbor. Harming our neighbor includes
A. murder (taking the life of another person without just cause);
Psalm 10:8 [The wicked man] sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent.Read about Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:8 and David and Uriah in 2 Samuel 11:15.
B. doing or saying anything that injures or endangers another person's life;
Proverbs 24:1-2 Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble.Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Read about Joseph's brothers in Genesis 37:33-35 and the physical oppression of the Israelites by the Egyptians in Exodus 1 and 5.
Note: The Bible does not prohibit self-defense or defense of our neighbor when faced with bodily harm or death.
C. neglecting to assist people in bodily need;
Deuteronomy 15:11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, "You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to poor, in your land."Matthew 25:42-43 For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you not visit Me.
D. harboring anger or hatred in our hearts against our neighbor.
Matthew 5:22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, "You fool!" will be liable to the hell of fire.Romans 12:19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord."
1 John 4:19-21 We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him: whoever love God must also love his brother.
Second, we fear and love God by looking after the physical well-being of our neighbor. We do this by
A. coming to the aid of our neighbor;
Romans 12:20 If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.Read about how Abraham rescues Lot in Genesis 14:12-16; how David protects Saul in 1 Samuel 26:1-12; and the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:33-35.
B. speaking in a way that helps and defends our neighbor;
Proverbs 31:8-9 Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.Read about Joseph forgiving his brothers in Genesis 45:1-16.
C. treating our neighbor with kindness and compassion.
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.Colossians 3:12-14 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Read about Jesus' obedience to this commandment by His compassion on the hungry (Matthew 15:32) and His mercy to ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19). Colossians 3:12-14 shows how love is the bond of harmony.
Eventual commentary
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