I was recently visiting Dawn’s blog; she was in the middle of having a debate with Pizza Man about the death penalty. She asked me what my thoughts/beliefs on the death penalty are. Since my reply to her has gotten a bit too long to post into a comments box, I have decided to post it here. I hestitated to do so, since I tend to shy away from discussions on social issues, preferring instead to stick with Biblical and spiritual topics. Maybe, though, this information will be useful to others who are looking to find the Biblical position on this issue.
THE PRECEDENT
The death penalty is a God-ordained means of justice instituted well before the law was given to Moses.
“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 sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” Genesis 9:5,6 (God said this to Noah immediately after the flood.)
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
“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 to 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 have praise of the same: 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.” Romans 13:1-4 Written by Paul to the Christians in Rome.
Here we are told of the government’s role and authority in the lives of Christians that we are also to respect as the ordinance of God. Notice the terminology such as bearing the sword and revenger to execute wrath. Yes, these terms could be symbolic of simply punishment, but if the government shouldn’t have the power to execute, maybe it should have said something like keeper of the bonds or something instead of bearer of the sword and revenger to execute wrath.
OBJECTIONS
1) But the government is corrupt!
A: And you don’t think that the Roman government was as well? Are you forgetting about the persecution of the apostles and churches? Of course you’ll find corruption in the government. Corruption will always exist in systems where men are in control, ALWAYS.
2) I’m pro-life.
A: Yes, and so am I. For that matter, so is God Who instituted the death penalty. Death isn’t something that anyone prefers to use and certainly something that is not enjoyed, but is necessary. Don’t forget the part about the higher powers being a terror unto those who practice evil.
3) There are those who deserved death who did not get the death penalty. Like what about Cain, Moses, Paul, and David?
A: First and foremost let us not forget that God can forgive; God is the ultimate Judge, so it is God’s choice whom He will show mercy and a stay to. On a case by case basis: Cain – crime committed before the institution of the death penalty, but did not excape being punished by God. Moses – was a case of defending another man who was being beaten; this was a case of defense, not of murder. Paul – misguided zealousness, but acted with the permission of the leaders and within full accord of his civil law; not a murderer. David – repented for his actions and got a stay of execution from God, but did not by any means escape punishment, paying for his crimes by losing 4 children. (By some who are parents, it might be agreed that death would have been preferrable.)
4) I’ve done things to earn death from the Levitical law.
A: Our government hardly imposes the Levitical law. So bringing up the death penalty for matters like these is raising a moot point because our government never has and never will implement the Levitical law. If you have sinned against God by committing acts that He finds detestable or abominable, then repent so you can receive His mercy.
WHICH OFFENSES?
The next question I was asked was essentially, which offenses deserve the death penalty? Tricky question. I would say that Biblically the only crime which God seemed to demand blood for from both Gentile and Jew alike was murder. “So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.” Numbers 35:33
If I made the laws of the land, I’d also want that those who commit sex crimes to see the death penalty, especially those who violate children.
I’ll conclude at this point for now. If I get more points that need to be addressed, I may edit this post to include them.
Great post, Rachael. You said some of the things I did not take the time to state on my blog in reply to Kevin (PM). I agree with most of what you have written.
Like you said, even though none of these men were executed, none of them escaped punishment altogether.
You said, “Moses – was a case of defending another man who was being beaten; this was a case of defense, not of murder.”
This is how I view it, for the most part, but I am not sure if Moses killed the Egyptian while he was in the process of beating the Hebrew man. I cannot tell if he had followed him somewhere and then killed him since he looked around to see if anyone was able to see him slay the Egyptian. Also, I’m not sure Moses was totally justified in killing the Egyptian since the Egyptian wasn’t actually killing the Hebrew man but was only beating him. It seems to me that Moses could have simply stopped the Egyptian from beating him rather than killing him. I feel that God saw Moses’ heart and knew it was not a true case of murder (i.e., evil or malicious); rather, it was a crime of passion. Moses despised the mistreatment of his brethren. There is more to be said, but I will leave it at this.
You said, “Paul – misguided zealousness, but acted with the permission of the leaders and within full accord of his civil law; not a murderer.”
Hmmm. I agree that Paul honestly thought that he was doing the will of God, but still he did murder the people who were actually innocent of any crime and that was wrong, even if you are the apostle Paul.
I think that God probably did take Paul’s motives into consideration (I Timothy 1:12-13), not to mention the plan He had for Paul’s life. Like you stated, Paul was following the law and so was never in any earthly danger of being tried for murder.
We don’t always know why God has mercy on some and not others, but we sometimes have a very good idea as to why He does some of the things He does. On the other hand, look at Annanias and Saphira! He certainly made an example out of them. YIKES!
You said, “David – repented for his actions and got a stay of execution from God, but did not by any means escape punishment, paying for his crimes by losing 4 children.”
Yes, David suffered much during his lifetime due to the consequences of his sin. Also, David did not follow God’s law when raising his own children which caused him even more grief.
You said, “I would say that Biblically the only crime which God seemed to demand blood for from both Gentile and Jew alike was murder.
“If I made the laws of the land, I’d also want that those who commit sex crimes to see the death penalty, especially those who violate children.”
I agree on the sex crimes issue and I think that is the way God wants it. However, on the Jew/Gentile issue, I would disagree; not everyone who dwelled in Israel was a Jew. There were Gentile sojourners in the land and they were expected to obey the laws of the land as well and were subject to the appropriate punishments. Certainly, both Jew and Gentile will be judged by the universal moral law of God, so why would the punishments be any different between the two? In other words, why would a Gentile be spared his life for committing adultery and not the Jew? I do not see the distinction made in scripture. The universal moral law is for all. The Jews just so happened to be the ones chosen to be the writers/recorders and the keepers of God’s word for all mankind and were the first to truly establish the law. I do not see where the law was exclusive to Israel (i.e., Jews only) in the sense that they were the only ones “allowed” to enforce the law and expected to obey and be punished for breaking the laws. So far, no one has been able to prove that from the scriptures.
I just feel it is a stretch to say that “biblically” the only time Gentiles were/are punished by death was/is if they took/take a life. Again, the law of God is for ALL. It is just that the law of God wasn’t completely recorded and fully enforced until the time of Moses.
You have no idea how happy it would make me for everyone to observe God’s moral law. I think I need to make a distinction in my statement, though. When I said that the only crime that God seemed to hold Gentiles accountable for in matters of execution for was murder, I was referring to God’s judgment on the Gentile nations. God did not hold the Gentile nations accountable to the same standards that He did the Israelites. There were still some standards that He did expect and did impose on these nations which can be seen by reading the judgments prophesied by God’s prophets. You are right that those in and around the Israelites, God’s chosen people and those whom God had set His name on, were expected to follow a stricter set of rules. I think that the same is true of our country. All who would claim God’s name and claim to be His people should follow God’s moral law, but of the heathen God expects less.
One thing I would like to clarify is that when I say that God only expected execution for the crime of murder, I include offering one’s children to idols as murder as well. I define murder as the shedding of innocent blood, which in this country would include the crime and sin of abortion.
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. God bless. Rachael