The Bible & Capital Punishment
Allow me to say first of all, that no matter how much I am in favor of the death penalty, I do not rejoice in the death of any. As you will see later on, God is in favor of the death penalty. He instituted the death penalty. Yet, he also takes no joy from the death of any.
Ezek. 33:11
11 Say unto them, [As] I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked...
Now on to the subject at hand. As I was browsing the internet last night. I came across these pictures. Few of which were holding up signs quoting portions of scripture. Some were just making assertions that we should practice what we preach and that we should show mercy and forgiveness.
Honestly, I struggle with my response to people like this. I realize that many of them are ignorant of the scriptures, that they have a few pet passages that they know of, but have no idea about the whole council of God. Even the verses that they quote or attempt to quote are usually taken out of context. They are trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. I do not fault them per se, for if they have not the Spirit of God how shall they understand His Spirit written Book?
Now let us shed some light on the subject…
Got Questions.org has a very good article on this subject.
Question: "What does the Bible say about the death penalty / capital punishment?"
Answer: The Old Testament law commanded the death penalty for various acts: murder (Exodus 21:12), kidnapping (Exodus 21:16), bestiality (Exodus 22:19); adultery (Leviticus 20:10); homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13), being a false prophet (Deuteronomy 13:5), prostitution and rape (Deuteronomy 22:4), and several other crimes. However, God often showed mercy when the death penalty was due. David committed adultery and murder, yet God did not demand his life be taken (2 Samuel 11:1-5, 14-17; 2 Samuel 12:13). Ultimately, each and every sin we commit should result in the death penalty (Romans 6:23). Thankfully, God demonstrates His love for us in not condemning us (Romans 5:8).
When the Pharisees brought a woman who was caught in the act of adultery to Jesus and asked Him if she should be stoned, Jesus replied, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7). This should not be used to indicate that Jesus rejected capital punishment in all instances. Jesus was simply exposing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. The Pharisees wanted to trick Jesus into breaking the Old Testament Law...they truly did not care about the woman being stoned (where was the man who was caught in adultery?) God was the One who instituted capital punishment: “Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:6). Jesus did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). Therefore, I would say that Jesus would support capital punishment. Jesus also demonstrated grace when capital punishment was due (John 8:1-11). The Apostle Paul definitely recognized the power of the government to institute capital punishment where appropriate (Romans 13:1-5).
So there should be no question about whether or not the death penalty is supported by the Bible. Yet there are many people that will take certain scriptures, lift them out of their context, and try to apply them where they don’t belong.
For instance, they will try to take verses from the Sermon on the Mount. Verses like…
Mathew 5
38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
What they fail to realize, is that this sermon is to the individual. The individual should not seek personal vengeance. This has absolutely nothing to do with law and justice or even matters of self defence. But for those that desire to apply this scripture I would strongly suggest you read all of this sermon.
How do you respond to verses like this?
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
21 Ye have 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:
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, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
What judgment? That of thou shall not kill. What did Jesus just do? He said that He was not doing away with the law, but in actuality He brought it up to the next level. Your anger without cause is likened to murder in His perfect sight.
27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Look at that. He raised the bar again.
He goes on to say in the context of “looking” and “lusting”…
29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Pretty serious stuff. Huh? On a side note this would be a great cure for those that say they can’t help themselves when it comes to sins of homosexuality. If that part of your anatomy offends, cut it off. Bet you won’t. I guess you don’t want to stop bad enough. I digress…
The fact is those who use The Sermon on the Mount to further their liberal agenda simply have no grasp on scripture.
For sake of time, I’ll close with this. If you want to know what God says about the governments role, then lets look at the following.
Romans 13
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.
We are to be subject to the higher powers, but the highest is God. If the laws of the land do not conflict with God, we are to follow them.
2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
If we resist these powers we are resisting God. Because God ordained them.
3 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 have praise of the same:
The government is supposed to be a terror to those that do evil. If we are lawful we have nothing to fear. That is if the government isn’t over run by liberals who want to call evil good and good evil.
4 For he is 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.
5Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
Vs 4 says much about the governments role in executing judgement.
*He is a minister of God.
*Be afraid. Why? He bears a sword to execute wrath upon those that commit evil.
*He is God’s minister to be a revenger. This way the individual does not have to take it upon himself, God gave us a government to take care of it.
Vs. 5 says that we must needs be subject.
*To what? The higher powers.
*Why? Because of our conscience, but if that is not enough to deter criminal behavior then for fear of the wrath of the sword.
If we were to practice this wrath more, we would have less need to practice it.
posted by G. P. Clarke Jr. at 3:50 PM
6 Comments:
Good post. I will generally tell people who ask about this subject (very short version) that individual Christians are supposed to show mercy. The government is supposed to execute punishment.
So as far as Tookie Williams went, Christians had an obligation to forgive him, witness to him (if possible), deal with him with the spirit of mercy that Christ demonstrated. The government had an obligation to carry out the law, which demanded the death penalty. And as long as the government's laws don't contradict God's, then we as Christians should submit to them, including such laws as capital punishment.
Just as Ron said, I believe in obeying the laws of the land as long as they don't contradict Gods law. That is the reason that even though I don't support the death penalty, I don't fight against it. If the majority of the people want to have it as an option it is then for me as a Christian not to get in their way as they carry it out. I could never sit on a jury where the death penalty was an option.
Exactly Ron. We as individuals should not take the laws into our own hands. However, the government is supposed to execute judgment. They are to reavenge on God’s behalf as His ministers. They are to reward good with good and evil with evil.
Old lady, It does not matter what the majority want. Capital punishment is mandated by God. Now if the majority did away with it, then I would have to submit to those laws because I am not in that position of authority.
For instance, I believe that the Bible teaches abortion is murder. As such it should be dealt with as murder. Those who have abortions as well as those who perform abortions should be brought to justice. If they are found guilty they should be executed. However, this is not my place of authority. It belongs to the government. I can not, as a Christian, take laws into mine own hand. Abortion clinic bombers are WRONG.
What I can do is work to have the laws changed. The likelihood of that happening is slim. But, all in all, I think you have it backwards. This I do know… When Christ sets up his kingdom to reign 1,000 years, He will rule with a rod of iron. His laws will be obeyed.
I disagree that capitol punishment is mandated by God. The birth of Gods son among us here on earth changed the Mosaic Law we were governed by as His followers in the Old Testament. We now live under the Grace Covenant and by Jesus' teachings things like stoning and animal sacrifice and not eating animals with cloven hooves were all done away with.
I believe that anything God wanted us to keep from the Laws Moses gave us was brought into the new Covenant by Jesus, like the ten commandments. And when Jesus says in Matthew 5:21-22 "Ye have 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: 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, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." I believe He is bringing the Commandment into the Grace Covenant (or New Testament) and then teaching us to learn to reign our tempers as that alone can bring the same punishment.
I am curious where you find that abortion is murder and capitol punishment is mandated by God. I read the piece on your blog and find some that I can agree with and some I disagree with. I disagree that our government is supposed to take revenge on Gods behalf. God is a just and vengeful God and would not want mankind to take His revenge. Yes, I agree killing those doctors that perform abortions is wrong, but if the laws of our land were such that abortion was illegal then would you still feel it was wrong to put that same doctor to death? What makes the difference in Gods eyes? Man set up the laws we are governed by as citizens, not God. He owes no allegiance to mans laws, only Gods laws, and in Gods laws all killing is wrong, but not unforgivable, since all sins can be forgiven except one.
I believe He is bringing the Commandment into the Grace Covenant (or New Testament) and then teaching us to learn to reign our tempers as that alone can bring the same punishment.
Respectfully, Christ is dealing with individuals here. He's teaching us how to respond to each other personally. He's not giving a blanket command that would also include governments. If He had been also speaking of how government's should act, then Paul would not have condoned the capital punishment exacted by governments in his day as he does in Romans 13:4-5. Speaking of the authority of the rulers of the day, he says, "...it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil." Rom. 4:13 NASB
It would be wonderful if the governments of the world did go by Gods word. I believe that if the individuals of the world that make up governments were to do just their part by following Gods word then this world would be a better place, but Gods word is not used nor followed by many, even among those that claim to be among Gods people.
I believe this may be where we'll have to agree to disagree. I haven't read anywhere in the Bible *(New Testament) where I interpret it to mean Jesus was actually telling the world (meaning the governments) how to govern the people of the world. Since I believe God cares not for the governments, rulers of this world (Except that they as individuals should do as He exhorts us all to do, repent and follow Him). I don't believe He would tell them as a whole how to govern us.
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