DEATH PENALTY - FOR AND AGAINST

The Christian and Capital Punishment (Against)

The first reference to capital punishment is found in Genesis 9:6. The Noahic Covenant, "whoever sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; in the image of God made He man." Before the flood, man had filled the world with violence and bloodshed. There will be no more floods to stop the violence and bloodshed of man's inhumanity to man (Gen. 9:11). By the use of capital punishment, men were to quell the violence and restore the order of justice. God ordained social order and gave government the authority to rule over the social order.

Under Mosaic law, capital punishment for murder continued and even broadened. The basic principle was "life for life", "eye for eye," "tooth for tooth" (Exodus 21:25). Besides murder, the death penalty was used for such crimes as adultery (Lev. 20:10), and even for a stubborn and rebellious son (Deut. 21:18). The stubborn son and adultery is the height of disrespect for the feelings and convictions of those we live with and around. Life is to be respected. Some Christians believe the death penalty is not for today. Capital punishment was given to a moral government (Israel) under God's direct leadership. The problem with this view is that Israel was anything but a moral people. Because America is not morally responsible, we do not know how to properly execute the death penalty. We might ask then who was Romans 13 addressed to. Paul says this is the nature of the law, whether morally responsible or not.

Some Objections to Capital Punishment

A number of objections to capital punishment have been offered by those who oppose it. Three of them are worthy of comment from a Biblical standpoint.

1. The case of Cain. Capital punishment was not God's intention from the beginning. When Cain slew his brother, Abel, God intervened on Cain's behalf. God forbade anyone to slay Cain in return. "If anyone slays Cain," God said, "vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold (Gen. 4:15). God set a mark on Cain for his own protection to warn those who would seek to slay him to avenge the blood of Abel.

2 Jesus and the adulterous woman. Did not Jesus show His disdain for capital punishment by refusing to apply the Old Testament death sentence to the woman taken in adultery? Jesus said to her, "Go and sin no more" (John 8:11). Moses commanded the death penalty for adulterers; Jesus forgave them. Is it not then, more Christian to do away with capital punishment and exercise forgiving love?

3. The cross of Christ and forgiving grace. The cross and God's forgiving grace is in itself an argument against capital punishment. God does not desire to punish men, least of all with capital punishment. Rather, God desires to pardon men through Christ. All our crimes were nailed to His cross (Eph. 2:15,16). Christ's sacrifice redeems from the curse (penalty) of the law (Gal. 3:13).

The Christian and Capital Punishment (For)

1. The case of Cain only proves capital punishment by Cain's fear that someone would slay him. This was Cain's own natural expectation, "whoever finds me will slay me" (Gen. 4:14). It was justice, not injustice, that Cain feared. First, God Himself said, "The voice of thy brother's blood cries unto me from the ground" (Gen. 4:10). Crying for what? For justice. One naturally anticipates the loss of his own life as a consequence of taking another life. Second, God's answer to Cain implies capital punishment. "If anyone slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." This no doubt means capital punishment would be used on anyone who kills Cain to seven generations. God Himself commuted the death sentence on Cain. There was no one to carry out the sentence. Surely God would not call upon his father to execute his only remaining son. Cain's case is the "exception" which proves the rule. From the beginning, God's intentions were that capital crimes should receive capital sentences.

2. Jesus and the adulterous woman. There is nothing in this passage against capital punishment. Jesus never claimed to have broken Moses' Law (Matt. 5:17). Moses' Law commanded the death penalty only if there were two or more eye witnesses (Num. 35:30). None claimed to be eye witnesses who pressed the charge of adultery. After they left, Jesus asked, "Woman, where are thine accusers? Has no man condemned you?" She said, "No man, Lord" (John 8:10-11). On the basis of no witnesses, the case was dismissed, "Neither do I condemn you." The woman had been given due process of the law. Under the Law of Moses, the judge has no power to condemn a person to death without two or more witnesses.

3. The cross of Christ and forgiving grace. This objection to capital punishment is built on a misunderstanding of grace. Forgiving a sin does not automatically rescind the results of sin. A drunk who confesses his sin has no right to expect God to take away his hangover. The grace of God takes care of the penalty of sin, but not always the immediate consequences. "Be not deceived. God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap" (Gal. 6:7). This appies to the Christian. The thief on the cross was saved, but not from the death penalty which he himself said he deserved for the crimes he had committed (Luke 23:41). "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43).

When the Corinthians abused the Lord's Supper, God visited them with sickness and even death (I Cor. 11:30). The New Testament does not void God's moral law in the Old Testament. Even under grace, it is still wrong to lie, to steal, to commit adultery, and to murder. If these acts are still sin, then there are still consequences for doing any one of them. If then God's moral law has not changed, then the consequences for breaking them has not changed.

One final point should be made in response to the alleged inhumanity of capital punishment. Contrary to what some would have us believe, capital punishment implies the highest regard for human life. Man is of great value because he was made in the image of God. That is why it is a sin of great consequence to kill him (Gen. 9:6). The worth of the individual is so great that the highest penalty is attached to those who would take the life of even one man.