What does the Bible really say about the death penalty? PART 2
Law of Death, Spirit of Life.
by Andrew Chan, PBC, Vancouver, BC
Exodus: 21:12-17 (NLT)
12 “Anyone who hits a person hard enough to cause death must be put to death. 13 But if it is an accident and God allows it to happen, I will appoint a place where the slayer can run for safety. 14 However, if someone deliberately attacks and kills another person, then the slayer must be dragged even from my altar and put to death.
15 “Anyone who strikes father or mother must be put to death.
16 “Kidnappers must be killed, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves.
17 “Anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death.
There is now way we can get around it, the law condemns murderers.., also kidnappers…also bad kids! Hey, obviously, we all should be dead now! Have we not all caused our parents grief, talked back and all that bad stuff?
In article entitled “Beyond Pearl Harbor” By Elesha Coffman associate editor of Christian History.
posted 6/1/01 on website on CT.com wrote about the story of Mitsuo Fuchida.
Fuchida grew up loving his native Japan and hating the United States, which treated Asian immigrants harshly in the first half of the twentieth century. Fuchida attended a military academy, joined Japan’s Naval Air Force, and by 1941, with 10,000 flying hours behind him, had established himself as the nation’s top pilot. When Japanese military leaders needed someone to command a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, they chose Fuchida.
Fuchida’s was the voice that sent his aircraft carrier the message "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!) indicating the success of the surprise mission. Later, he too was surprised when he learned that, of the 70 officers who participated in the raid, he was the only one who returned alive. He had another close call when he was shot down during the battle of Midway in 1942, but despite serious injuries, he survived again.
By 1945 he had attained the position of the Imperial Navy’s Air Operations Officer. On August 6 he was eating breakfast in Nara, Japan, where a new military headquarters was under construction, when he heard about a bomb dropped on Hiroshima. He flew to investigate, then sent a grim report to the Imperial Command.
On the same day, an American P.O.W. named Jacob DeShazer felt moved by the Holy Spirit to pray for peace. DeShazer had been in captivity since 1942, when, as a member of Doolittle’s Raiders, he dropped bombs near Tokyo and then was forced to parachute into China. While imprisoned, first in Nanjing and later in Beijing, DeShazer had become a Christian. He found his heart softened toward his Japanese captors. After being liberated, DeShazer wrote a widely distributed essay, "I Was a Prisoner of the Japanese," detailing his experiences of capture, conversion, and forgiveness.
Fuchida and DeShazer met in 1950. DeShazer had returned to Japan in 1948 as a missionary. Fuchida had read DeShazer’s testimony, bought a Bible, and converted from Buddhism to Christianity. DeShazer had recently finished a 40-day fast for revival in Japan when Fuchida came to his home and introduced himself. DeShazer welcomed the new convert and encouraged him to be baptized. While DeShazer continued to plant churches throughout Japan, Fuchida became an evangelist, spreading a message of peace and forgiveness in his native country and throughout Asian-American communities.
Fuchida died 25 years ago, on May 30, 1976. Like dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel, who wished his legacy to be one of peace rather than destruction, Fuchida wanted the message of his changed heart to supersede the memory of his infamous attack. He wrote, "That morning [December 7] … I lifted the curtain of warfare by dispatching that cursed order, and I put my whole effort into the war that followed. … [But] after buying and reading the Bible, my mind was strongly impressed and captivated. I think I can say today without hesitation that God’s grace has been set upon me."
NOW… If the US Govt were to hunt him down for the all killing he did and killed him for leading the Pearl Harbor attack and for the many others he killed later, he would not have had the chance to meet His Savior. These words of Fuchida would have never been uttered “I think I can say today without hesitation that God’s grace has been set upon me." Furthermore, countless other souls would never have heard the Good News of Christ, because he would not have been around to tell and spread God’s love. See in the story too, it took Jacob DeShazer’s testimony an American POW who could have demanded revenge for his ordeal at the hands of his Japanese captors and ignored the Japanese. Many would have slipped into Christless eternity, including Fuchida. Many hearts were turned toward God, because redeemed people, like their God, refuse to give up on sinners.
Biblical literalism… without examining whole counsel of God’s Word, will say PUT TO DEATH means put to death. See it, written in the law, black and white. Fuchida? No mercy, he is to die for personally causing so many deaths at Pearl Harbor! And now aren’t we twisting Scripture then to say that the words “put to death” does not mean “put to death”. What gives here?
So we need to go back to what we have affirmed in part One: which is God affirms life, He is the life, He is for life, He enjoys life, He created it and no way He will uncreate it. So we concluded in part one:
1. We should be deeply troubled by death like Jesus was.
2. God is for life to flourish: It is not the divine will for death to occur.
3. God opposes death… see that most clearly it His victory over it, the Resurrection!
To makes sense of Ex.21 text, need to place the text in it proper context.
This is the LAW set immediately after the giving of the 10 commandments.
Before that was given, God reminded them, before the law, grace existed… Ex. 19:3-6
3 Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The LORD called out to him from the mountain and said, “Give these instructions to the descendants of Jacob, the people of Israel: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I brought you to myself and carried you on eagle’s wings. 5 Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the nations of the earth; for all the earth belongs to me. 6 And you will be to me a kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ Give this message to the Israelites.”
1. God’s saving hand – “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians”
2. God’s personal tender love – “I brought you to myself” not to the Promised Land but to Himself and “carried you on eagle’s wings” – imagery of protection, care, saving from danger.
GRACE! What God is saying here even when they could not save themselves, I saved them with a mighty hand, and it’s because of love, relationship! It is therefore, not their great obedience to Law that warranted God’s saving hand, they do not deserve to be saved, they were as sinful as the Egyptians. Do u see it as pure grace?
Grace… precedes law.
3. Obedience then comes as a result of relationship… not of law. It is like this… Can u see how wonderful God is? How then should you respond? With a no thanks, I can do this by myself? With a yeah, so what? With OK, thanks but I am gonna do things my way… OR Wow, God! I praise and worship You, awesome! I will obey whatever you say, cause I trust You are good and have the power to what it takes, if you can deliver me from Egyptians what’s too hard for you. Thus, this becomes a matter of faith and trust in God’s love and goodness. If He had done this in past, based on His good excellent spotless track record, He can pull off anything and I can’t lose. Yes, I can’t lose… cause if I remain under Him, He says I am special of all the nations in the world.
4. Follow that up… God says not only are the Israelites accorded special status, gonna have special privilege and function as mediators for the world of God’s blessing (kingdom of priests, a holy nation)
Hence, we understand that God is about granting grace… because if He was just to deal justly and only on the on the basis of justice He would have wiped out everyone including the imperfect ever complaining bunch of Israelites that was saved in the Exodus story.
The Exodus context further states, the laws are for that time period in their history… there are no more cities of refuge where people can run to. We live in a democracy, not a theocracy as Israelites were. There are no more slaves (see section just before our Ex.21:12-17 text). We don’t go around piercing ears with awls anymore, though some may argue we pierce more like tongues, noses, other body parts. Just pure biblical literalism can get us into a lot of hot soup.
So I believe if we should err, let’s err on the side of grace rather than law. “…for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Cor.3:6). Ultimately, the death penalty will be given…
8 But cowards who turn away from me, and unbelievers, and the corrupt, and MURDERERS, and the immoral, and those who practice witchcraft, and idol worshipers, and all liars—their doom is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the SECOND DEATH.”
Rev. 21:8 (NLT)
But now is the period of grace… 2 Peter 3:8-15 (NLT)
But you must not forget, dear friends, that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, HE IS BEING PATIENT FOR YOUR SAKE. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and everything in them will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be exposed to judgment.
11 Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living! 12 You should look forward to that day and hurry it along—the day when God will set the heavens on fire and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world where everyone is right with God.
14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to live a pure and blameless life. And be at peace with God.
15 And remember, THE LORD IS WAITING SO THAT PEOPLE HAVE TIME TO BE SAVED.
Remember the woman caught in adultery, where Jesus certainly had the chance to do the easy thing, and put the woman to death, He chose not to. Rather He chose to forgive, and give time for the woman to repent and go and sin no more. WOW! Redemptive love tells us to let mercy triumph over judgment… Love keeps no record of wrong… See 1 Cor.13:4-7 (NLT)
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. 6 It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Aren’t we all like sheep who have gone astray? Yet God saved us from our just punishment.
Based on the fact that many of us are already guilty of murder according to Jesus (Matt 5:21-22, NLT):
21 “You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘Do not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ 22 But I say, if you are angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the high council. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.
We really need to curb our desire for vengeance and blood-letting and payback and give it to the Lord. From Jesus we know all are guilty of the death penalty.. for each of has said words of anger that we wish we can take back.
SO...We must certainly go beyond rule of the law of the scribes and the Pharisees!
Furthermore, if we see the OT Law as a copy/shadow of the reality which is found in Jesus, we realize that the death penalty is now no longer needed – sacrifices in the OT is a reminder of the death penalty we all deserve – but Jesus took care of it, no sacrifices needed anymore, no more killing needed… Hebrews 10:1 (NLT)
The old system in the law of Moses was only a shadow of the things to come, not the reality of the good things Christ has done for us. The sacrifices under the old system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.
Hebrews 10 further notes:
8 Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or grain offerings or animals burned on the altar or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). 9 Then he added, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to establish the second. 10 And what God wants is for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time…14 For by that one offering he perfected forever all those whom he is making holy.
15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. First he says,
16 “This is the new covenant I will make
with my people on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts
so they will understand them,
and I will write them on their minds
so they will obey them.”
17 Then he adds,
“I will never again remember
their sins and lawless deeds.”
18 Now when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices…
God chooses to forget about our just desserts. God chooses to accept that the penalty of death is fully paid up through Jesus. Then Hebrews 10 further said, vengeance belongs to God only He will decide…
28 Anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God and have treated the blood of the covenant as if it were common and unholy. Such people have insulted and enraged the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to his people.
30 For we know the one who said,
“I will take vengeance.
I will repay those who deserve it.”
He also said,
“The Lord will judge his own people.”
31 It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
This tells us that God will do the job of giving the death penalty, it does not say that we should do it. Or even say good Christians must support the death penalty sanctioned by the State. Even the teaching re: the sword in Romans 13:1-5 is about God doing the job, using secular pagan authorities (the ruling Romans), not Christians. And in the immediate context it says also “do not repay evil for evil” (Rom.12:17) and “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’;s wrath, for it is written ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom.12:19) and “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom.12:21). In the same breath, the Romans 13:8-10 (NLT) also teaches to love:
8 Pay all your debts, except the debt of love for others. You can never finish paying that! If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill all the requirements of God’s law. 9 For the commandments against adultery and murder and stealing and coveting—and any other commandment—are all summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to anyone, so love satisfies all of God’s requirements.
For Christians the law of death must give way to the law of love by the Spirit of life. Jesus has paid the price, so we must allow the same mercy to applied for other sinners, including murderers. Those who do not repent before a merciful God will know what it is to fall into the hands of the living God who will judge those who trample upon His Son’s blood and sacrifice.
From an article in Christianity Today written when Christians pleaded for the life of Karla Faye Tucker to be spared-
As we continue this prayerful conversation, here are some things to consider:
The death penalty as it is practiced in this country is unfair and discriminatory. For those of us who support the death penalty as a moral abstraction, here are some troubling facts: On average, only one in a thousand murderers is executed. Race, class, and geography are the best predictors of who will get the death sentence for first-degree murder. If the victims are white and the perpetrators are poor minorities who commit their crimes in one of a handful of mostly southern states, their chances are greatest of receiving the death penalty. Nearly 90 percent of persons executed are convicted of killing whites, yet people of color are the victims of homicide in a majority of cases. Slightly over half of the executions since 1976 have been in Texas, Virginia, and Florida.
The legal resources available to poor people are woefully inadequate. The American Bar Association (ABA) cites examples of lawyers being assigned to murder cases who had just passed their bar exam or had no previous criminal trial experience, and instances where the defense attorney is paid only $800 per case with as little as $500 for expenses. "In case after case," an ABA report concludes, "decisions about who will die and who will live turn not on the nature of the offense the defendant is charged with committing, but rather on the nature of the legal representation the defendant receives." This unconscionable situation was exacerbated by get-tough-on-crime laws passed by Congress in 1996, which curtailed postconviction appeals and withdrew federal funding from organizations that support postconviction proceedings. Such uneven and inequitable application of death-penalty provisions prompted the ABA in February 1997 to call for a suspension of the death penalty. And former Justice Lewis Powell, the author of the 1976 Supreme Court ruling reinstating the death penalty, has said he regrets his involvement in that decision more than anything else during his tenure on the Court.
Even worse than inadequate defense is the execution of the falsely convicted. According to a study entitled In Spite of Innocence (1992), at least 23 innocent people have been executed in this century. And since 1972, 69 people wrongly convicted have been released from death row—21 of them since 1993. What has become of the principle that it is better that a few guilty people go free than that one person be falsely convicted?
The death penalty does not deter. Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, the number of executions and the death-row population have grown significantly. Yet the murder rate has remained essentially the same. In fact, a majority of the states that practice capital punishment have higher murder rates than those that don’t. And the U.S. murder rate is anywhere from five to twenty times that of other industrialized nations without the death penalty.
The death penalty does not deter, because murder often happens in the heat of the moment. And those who premeditate murder are willing to take the risk they won’t get caught.
Conclusion:
It is difficult to biblically justify the death penalty. Of course, based solely on the law, sure, and justice demands it. Yet, the Bible affirms reverence for human life for it is reverence for God - for people are made in His image (Gen.9:6). That is why it is such a serious offence to kill. That is why the law to put murderers to death is there. It magnifies the offence. It condemns the offence. So the law will say it is OK to give out the death penalty to deserving offenders. It is not only OK but it is right and holy in accordance with God’s law.
Even Paul sees that in Rom.7 and finally said "Who will rescue me from this body of death?" Answer: Jesus Christ! Thanks be to God!
Life must be respected but the Spirit of law that gives life, that reserves judgment over life to be the prerogative of God, does not allow us to merely unthinkingly or uncritically accept the movement to end someone’s life without mercy and tempered with lots of patient grace. That is why we oppose abortion. If we approve killing without mercy shown, we become inconsistent in our pro-life views. So it remains a very difficult thing to give an unqualified YES to killing even if it is sanctioned by the State. I believe we must err on the side of grace and allow redemptive love to dictate even when on the inside we are crying for blood to be spilled.
The Middle East conflict tells us killing that is sanctioned by the state offers no hope for lasting peace, it only escalates more violence and murders. When will the killing end? Only if they can see God’s love and grace and like Him can choose to overlook the offence based on the fact that God will deal justly and believe that there is such a thing as forgiveness and redemption… Praise God there is such a thing!
So love says we need be patient as God is and not merely seek after revenge. Just as now we who are in Christ receive no condemnation and experienced being set free from the law of sin and death, we need to witness of this to others especially offenders who have the death sentence hanging over them (Rom.8:1,2).
