Does the Bible affirm or condemn the use of capital punishment? I've read a lot of comment responses to YouTube videos about capital punishment that state either/or. For those who believe that the Bible condemns capital punishment they see execution as people trying to steal a right that only God has, which is the right to decide when a person lives and when they die. There other two two arguments is that execution is just returning murder, something the Bible condemns everywhere, with murder; and people are no longer under old covenant law, but new covenant grace; therefore, capital punishment would be a step backwards from God's movement in salvation history.
What I want to say is that the above statements are true. The Bible does condemn murder, God does have the right to give and take a way life, and we are no longer under the old covenant law. However, when these truths are taken within the whole context of the Bible you'll find the Bible does not condemn capital punishment, but sees it as a permissible form of punishment for certain crimes. This can be seen from before the institution of the Mosaic Covenant at the beginning in Genesis.
Old Testament and Capital Punishment
The one thing Christians for and against capital punishment have in common is that they believe God does have the right to put people to death. The penalty for sin, which is committing a crime against God and breaking His laws, is death. This is seen in Genesis 2 when "the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will certainly die.”" (Genesis 2:16-17, TNIV). To sin against the LORD God is to receive capital punishment from God, the Ruler, Judge, and Law Enforcer of creation. Sometimes the sentenced is carried out immediately, such as in Ananias and Sapphira's case in Acts 5, or it is carried out when after a person lives a lifetime of sin and rejection of God's Lordship is sentenced to eternally from God in hell for eternity.
Did God pass this right on to humanity? In Genesis 9:6 God said,
Whoever sheds human blood,
by human beings shall their blood be shed;
for in the image of God
has God made humankind.
In other words, yes God did. This is the second time God passed the right to rule and exercise law and order from Himself to humanity, the first was Genesis 1:28, and in it God gives humanity the right to take a life if a person kills someone else. Note that this privilege is not a free for all. Only the shedding of blood, which in the Bible is taking a life, demands execution as punishment.
In the Mosaic Law this is still in effect with some changes. Under the Old Testament law people capital crimes were murder, idolatry, practising of the occult, and sexual immorality. These sins were more serious than others because they were being practised by the Egyptians and original inhabitants of the Promised Land, and the inhabitants insistence on practising them lead to God sending the Israelites to drive them out. If you want to know what life was like in those nations, read the prophets and 2Kings and 2Chronicles, because the Israelites exactly what the people God drove out of the land did and it was not fun to live there.
Clearly the Old Testament was for capital punishment as it was commanded by God to be used as punishment for certain offences under Mosaic Law. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Old Testament Law and its stipulations have been done away with and rendered null and void. Now we have the Gospel of grace where the punishment for all of our sins, including murder, were paid for by Jesus' shed blood at Calvary. Furthermore, God's people are no longer a physical nation in a specific geographical location under God but scattered all over the world. Given these facts, does the New Testament support or condemn the death penalty?
The New Testament and Capital Punishment
The New Testament does not come out and say it is bad but it does not say it is acceptable either. However, I do not think the New Testament can be used to voice the abolition of the death penalty wholeheartedly. While it is true that Jesus death paid the price for our sins, including all the murders ever to be committed, there is still the need for a judicial system because not everyone will accept God's offer of salvation. Furthermore there is a difference between turning the other cheek and loving your enemies in an individual believer's life, and ruling a country. The New Testament calls Christians to submit to the governing authorities, else suffer the consequences, because they were put in place to protect us from violent people.
Romans 13:1-5
1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
Paul was speaking to a church an empire that practised capital punishment on a regular basis. Therefore, Paul was indirectly affirming that governing authorities do have the right to practice capital punishment. Paul was also talking to a society that persecuted the church quite a bit during its first 300 years of existence. Why would Christians want to submit to a government that seemed to constantly attack them for their faith in Christ?
1Peter 2:13-17, 19-23
13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of the foolish. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love your fellow believers, fear God, honor the emperor...
19 For it is commendable if you bear up under the pain of unjust suffering because you are conscious of God. 20But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22 “He committed no sin,and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
Submit to the governing authorities so that the only reason the government has for arresting believers is their faith in Jesus Christ and they will be remembered as martyrs, not condemned criminals.
From reading Scripture, I've found that it is God's people who do not have the right to execute people who do wrong. To the contrary, the highest form of discipline/punishment God's people can administer is excommunication. The goal of excommunication is not to rid the church of a criminal but to bring the offender back into the body of believers as a fellow brother or sister redeemed by God. Excommunication can be reversed, execution cannot.
Summary
While it is true that the Bible does condemn murder and affirms that God has the right to give and take away life because He is the Creator, Ruler, and Judge of the universe, the Bible does not really argue against the use of capital punishment. Since Genesis 9:6, God has commanded the use of capital punishment for murder and later sexual immorality, idolatry, and the practising of the occult in Mosaic Law. In the New Testament, the highest form of discipline is excommunication from the body of Christ, not capital punishment, in the hopes that the person is eventually brought back. However, if a government chooses to use capital punishment it has permission to do so within reason by God, who put them there. If the governing authority abuses this calling, God will deal with them.
Revelation 6:9-11
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants and brothers and sisters were killed just as they had been.
Revelation 6:9-11
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants and brothers and sisters were killed just as they had been.
No comments:
Post a Comment