Milo

Each Christian has to choose whether or not they believe in the death penalty. We must remember that God’s justice is not our justice, and just as we are a fallen world so too are our systems and the reasons they exist.

Vivian Bricker
Contributing Writer
2021
20 Sep

The death penalty is a popular topic today as well as a politically heated debate. There are two arguments for the death penalty, those who are for the death penalty and those who are opposed to the death penalty.

Believers are divided on this ethical topic as some believe the death penalty is permitted; whereas others believe it is never permitted. There are weighty arguments on each side of the coin as each individual Christian has to make their own decision about the death penalty.

The Argument for the Death Penalty
There are multiple arguments in support of the death penalty; however, the most popular argument is “The death penalty is an effective deterrent.” In other words, the death penalty prevents the criminal from committing any future harm.

Right now, in 2021, the death penalty is legal in 27 states of America, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

All of the current criminals in limbo on death row have all been found guilty of murder. More specifically, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, “Death sentences may only be imposed for crimes in which a victim is killed, but state legislatures can determine what specific circumstances make a murder eligible for a death sentence.”

Thus, the death penalty is only enacted if murder was involved. In the past, the crime of rape would be found worthy of the death penalty; however, in the 21st century, rape is no longer seen as a crime deserving death. As of 2021, the only crime guilty of receiving the death penalty is murder.

Was the Death Penalty Used in the Bible?
The Old Testament does show evidence for capital punishment. The punishment of death was not only for murder (Exodus 21:12), but also for rape (Deuteronomy 22:24), adultery (Leviticus 20:10), kidnapping (Exodus 21:16), homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13), and bestiality (Exodus 22:19). False prophets were also condemned to death.

That prophet or dreamer must be put to death for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you (Deuteronomy 13:5).

Does this mean that when a believer sees any of these things occur, the criminal should be killed? Even though each of these crimes was punishable by death, God extended mercy to each individual as shown in the case of David.

David had committed adultery with Bathsheba, but God did not order that David be killed. Instead, God showered David with mercy. David confessed his sin to God and expressed his need for God’s forgiveness (2 Samuel 12:13).

Believers today should extend mercy and kindness just as God did to David; however, believers must also be aware that there are consequences for sin even though God forgives the sin. God is merciful, loving, and forgiving, but He is also righteous, holy, and perfect (1 Samuel 2:2; 1 Peter 1:16; Psalm 99:9). Sin cannot coexist with God as sin separates us from God.

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear (Isaiah 59:2).

The Argument Against the Death Penalty
As stated by the FIACAT Representation to the United Nations, “The death penalty does not respect the right to life.” In addition to this main reason, other arguments include that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent, it is built upon a faulty governmental system, it does not truly protect society, and it does not give the opportunity for the criminal to repent.

Concerning the last reason, if a person is sentenced to death, they would never have time to accept Jesus into their lives. There are numerous ministries today focused on helping prisoners come to know Jesus across the world. Prison ministries emphasize forgiveness and redemption to the prisoners as all people can be saved.

A person is only given forgiveness because of placing faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). Even if a person’s past is filled with sin, God can still forgive them and redeem them. Nothing is too unforgivable for God if the person comes before God in genuine remorse. Paul was a persecutor of the faith, he strongly opposed the apostles’ message, and he was even a murderer.

And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison (Acts 8:1-3).

In 1 Corinthians 15:9, Paul states, “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”

In the same way, God can redeem the lives of criminals, prisoners, and murderers today.

A Hard and Complicated Situation
Each Christian has to choose whether or not they believe in the death penalty. There are strong reasons for each side of the argument. In the Old Testament, there were times when the death penalty needed to be enacted and it was carried out.

Even though capital punishment is a reality in the present world today, believers need to approach the subject with wisdom. Galatians 6:6-7 tells us, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

God does not desire anyone to die; however, there are consequences for our sins. God can forgive any sin, but the government and authority figures have created their own human system for justice. It is fully possible for criminals, prisoners, and murderers to place faith in Jesus and receive forgiveness.

As Christians, we need to study the Bible and come to our own findings on the death penalty. Praying for God’s guidance, direction, and wisdom will help believers make good decisions for all areas of life, including taking a stance on the arguments of capital punishment. God promises to give us wisdom if we ask for it.

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you (James 1:5).

Several years ago Dan Van Ness, then president of Justice Fellowship wrote A Call to Dialogue on Capital Punishment. It was not meant to take sides on the death penalty, but rather explore some of the important issues raised by the various sides. This article is excerpted from Dan’s monograph. Dan now works with Prison Fellowship International.

Does Scripture mandate, prohibit, or permit capital punishment? Christians are divided on this issue. Let’s summarize the arguments for each position:

SCRIPTURE MANDATES CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
The principal argument is that because life is sacred, those who wrongfully take another human life must lose their own lives. This is a form of restitution; a matter of justice— the state purging itself of those who shed innocent blood. Proponents of this position cite three scriptural arguments:

ARGUMENT 1
Genesis 9:6 says, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.” This is part of the larger covenant that God made with Noah after the flood. It not only reflects the great value of human life, but also gives the reason for that value: Man is made in God’s image.The absolute language of Genesis 9:6 suggests that all those who kill another human being must be killed. And since this mandate was given long before the Mosaic Law to all who survived the flood, it apparently has universal application.

ARGUMENT 2
The Law, as given to Moses on Mt. Sinai, ordained execution for several offenses: murder (but not accidental killings), striking or cursing a parent, kidnapping, adultery, incest, bestiality, sodomy, rape of a betrothed virgin, witchcraft, incorrigible delinquency, breaking the Sabbath, blasphemy, sacrificing to false gods, oppressing the weak, and other transgressions. (See Exod. 21, 22, 35; Lev. 20 & 24; Deut. 21-24.)

ARGUMENT 3
While no New Testament passage expressly mandates capital punishment, several imply its appropriateness. For example, in Romans 13:1-7 Paul calls his readers to submit to the authority of civil government, reminding them that “if you do wrong, be afraid, for he [the authority] does not bear the sword for nothing.” In its ultimate use, the word sword implies execution.

SCRIPTURE PROHIBITS CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Old Testament Law clearly calls for capital punishment. So those who believe Scripture prohibits capital punishment argue that the developments of the New Testament era supersede the Old Testament Law.

ARGUMENT 1
Israel was a theocracy, a nation ruled directly by God. Therefore, its Law was unique. Executing false teachers and those who sacrificed to false gods are examples of provisions that sprang from Israel’s unique position as a nation of God called to be holy. When Israel ceased to exist as a nation, its Law was nullified.Even the execution of murderers stemmed, in part, from God’s special relationship to Israel. Numbers 35:33 says that the blood of a murder victim “pollutes the land,” a pollution that must be cleansed by the death of the murderer. If the murderer could not be found, an animal was to be sacrificed to God to purge the community of guilt (Deut. 21).

ARGUMENT 2
Christ’s death on the cross ended the requirement for blood recompense and blood sacrifice. The sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God, replaced the sacrifice of animals. His death also made it unnecessary to execute murderers to maintain human dignity and value because the crucifixion forever established human value. Hebrews 9:14 says, “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”

ARGUMENT 3
Christ’s teaching emphasizes forgiveness and willingness to suffer evil rather than resist it by force. This may not be definitive on the issue of the state’s authority to execute, but it does demonstrate a different approach to responding to evil than that established on Mt. Sinai. Christ’s example in not demanding death for the adulteress supports this argument (John 8).

SCRIPTURE PERMITS CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Those who argue that the Bible permits capital punishment see strengths in both the pro and the con arguments, but disagree with the conclusions of both.

ARGUMENT 1
As noted previously, Scripture includes many provisions for capital punishment. The Mosaic Law significantly limited the scope of Genesis 9:6. For example, individuals guilty of manslaughter or accidentally causing another’s death were exempted from the death penalty.

ARGUMENT 2
Perhaps the most compelling arguments against capital punishment are the examples of capital criminals who were not executed, such as Cain, Moses, and David. And not only did Jesus refuse to condemn the woman caught in adultery, but He also suggested that only those without sin were qualified to perform the execution. Jewish interpretation of Old Testament Law reflected a great reluctance to impose the death penalty. For example, circumstantial evidence wasn’t admitted. The two eyewitnesses (Num. 35) had to have warned the accused he was about to commit a capital crime. If the two witnesses’ testimonies differed, the accused was acquitted. Men presumed to lack compassion could not rule on a capital case.

ARGUMENT 3
New Testament passages assume the existence of the death penalty but don’t take a position one way or the other. Romans 13 comes closest to speaking of the state’s authority to execute, but significantly it refers to the state’s authority, not obligation, to execute. This is consistent with the position that states are permitted, not mandated or prohibited, the use of this sanction.

UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS?
Those who believe that Scripture mandates or permits capital punishment must move on to another question: What conditions does Scripture give before the state may exercise capital punishment? The Old Testament Law did not simply address the “whether” of capital punishment; it also spoke of the “how.” These provisions need not be literally carried out today for our death-penalty statutes to meet biblical standards. For example, Deuteronomy 17 required the condemning witnesses to throw the first stones. This is impossible today, because stoning is not a current method of execution. However, the principle is that witnesses were held responsible for the consequences of their testimony, encouraging truthfulness. Here are some other principles drawn from the Mosaic Law’s procedures:

PROPORTIONALITY
Exodus 21:23-25 establishes that punishment must be proportional to the offense. The extreme sanction of death should be considered only in the most serious offenses.
CERTAINTY OF GUILT
Before a murderer could be executed, two witnesses had to confirm his guilt (Deut. 17:6; Num. 35:30). This was a very high standard of proof. The Bible says nothing of circumstantial evidence.
INTENT
Numbers 35:22-24 established that capital punishment could not be imposed when the offender did not act intentionally.
DUE PROCESS
Several provisions of the Law ensured that executions took place only after appropriate judicial procedures (see Num. 35; Deut. 17). The issue was not simply whether the accused was guilty, but whether he also had a fair chance to prove his innocence.
RELUCTANCE TO EXECUTE
Although the Law may sound bloodthirsty, it was applied with great restraint. In Ezekiel 33:11 God laments, “As sure as I live . . . I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.” The Lawgiver Himself was reluctant to impose the death penalty, preferring that the wrongdoers repent.Reluctance is not refusal. But it does imply that execution should be a last resort, and, as Ezekiel 33 suggests, repentance or contrition could commute the death sentence.

Context
The Testimony of Two or Three Witnesses
…Then the rest of the people will hear and be afraid, and they will never again do anything so evil among you. You must show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
19:15-21 Sentence should never be passed upon the testimony of one witness alone. A false witness should suffer the same punishment which he sought to have inflicted upon the person he accused. Nor could any law be more just. Let all Christians not only be cautious in bearing witness in public, but be careful not to join in private slanders; and let all whose consciences accuse them of crime, without delay flee for refuge to the hope set before them in Jesus Christ.

Punishment of a False Witness.
But if convicted of perjury, it will be sufficient for his own condemnation, and his punishment shall be exactly the same as would have overtaken the object of his malignant prosecution.

What punishment he intended or the law allotted to the accused, if he had been convicted, the same shall the false accuser bear.

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And thine eye shall not pity,…. The false witness when convicted; this is directed to the judges, who should not spare such an one through favour or affection, but pronounce a righteous sentence on him, and see it executed, in proportion to the crime, and that according to the law of retaliation:
but life shall go for life; in such a case where the life of a person must have gone, if the falsehood of the testimony had not been discovered, the false witness must suffer death; in other cases, where a member would have been lost, or the price of it paid for, the same penalty was to be inflicted:

eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot; that is, the price of an eye an eye, &c. see Exodus 21:23.

June 20th

Have you come to “when” yet?

And the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends. Job 42:10.

The plaintive, self-centred, morbid kind of prayer, a dead-set that I want to be right, is never found in the New Testament. The fact that I am trying to be right with God is a sign that I am rebelling against the Atonement. ‘Lord, I will purify my heart if You will answer my prayer; I will walk rightly if You will help me.’ I cannot make myself right with God, I cannot make my life perfect; I can only be right with God if I accept the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ as an absolute gift. Am I humble enough to accept it? I have to resign every kind of claim and cease from every effort, and leave myself entirely alone in His hands, and then begin to pour out in the priestly work of intercession. There is much prayer that arises from real disbelief in the Atonement. Jesus is not beginning to save us, He has saved us, the thing is done, and it is an insult to ask Him to do it.
If you are not getting the hundredfold more, not getting insight into God’s word, then start praying for your friends, enter into the ministry of the interior. “The Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends.” The real business of your life as a saved soul is intercessory prayer. Wherever God puts you in circumstances, pray immediately, pray that His Atonement may be realized in other lives as it has been in yours. Pray for your friends now; pray for those with whom you come in contact now.

June 20

“Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” (Isa. 30:21)

WHEN we are in doubt or difficulty, when many voices urge this course or the other, when prudence utters one advice and faith another, then let us be still, hushing each intruder, calming ourselves in the sacred hush of God’s presence; let us study His Word in the attitude of devout attention; let us lift up our nature into the pure light of His face, eager only to know what God the Lord shall determine—and ere long a Very distinct impression will be made, the unmistakable forth-telling of His secret counsel.
It is not wise in the earlier stages of Christian life to depend on this alone, but to wait for the corroboration of circumstances. But those who have had many dealings with God know well the value of secret fellowship with Him, to ascertain His will.
Are you in difficulty about your way? Go to God with your question; get direction from the light of His smile or the cloud of His refusal.
If you will only get alone, where the lights and shadows of earth cannot interfere, where human opinions fail to reach—and if you will dare to wait there silent and expectant, though all around you insist on immediate decision or action—the will of God will be made clear; and you will have a new conception of God, a deeper insight into His nature and heart of love, which shall be for yourself alone—a rapturous experience, to abide your precious perquisite forever, the rich guerdon of those long waiting hours.—David.

“STAND STILL,” my soul, for so thy Lord commands:
E’en when thy way seems blocked, leave it in His wise hands;
His arm is mighty to divide the wave.
“Stand still,” my soul, “stand still” and thou shalt see
How God can work the “impossible” for thee,
For with a great deliverance He doth save.

Be not impatient, but in stillness stand,
Even when compassed ’round on every hand,
In ways thy spirit does not comprehend.
God cannot clear thy way till thou art still,
That He may work in thee His blessed will,
And all thy heart and will to Him do bend.

“BE STILL,” my soul, for just as thou art still,
Can God reveal Himself to thee; until
Through thee His love and light and life can freely flow;
In stillness God can work through thee and reach
The souls around thee. He then through thee can teach
His lessons, and His power in weakness show.

“BE STILL”—a deeper step in faith and rest.
“Be still and know” thy Father knoweth best
The way to lead His child to that fair land,
A “summer” land, where quiet waters flow;
Where longing souls are satisfied, and “know
Their God,” and praise for all that He has planned.—Selected.