Capital Punishment
Romans: 13: 4
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.
The issue of capital punishment has caused controversy in religious and secular societies around the globe. In the last few decades Europeans have decided to abolish capital punishment along with several US states, but why, and is there scripture to defend capital punishment? For those of you who have already committed yourself to the fight against capital punishment I would ask you to reconsider examining the scripture verses and reasoning I provide.
The above verse in Romans is a favorite of many police and military departments and institutions. The idea that a police officer is a minister of God is very appealing to Christian police officers. We however must consider that police officers in other countries have neglected their duties allowing corruption and genocide. This verse specifically implies a government that is overall “good” in nature. I can conclude this through various psalms. Psalms 140-143 all provide hope for those suffering under the wicked. If truly the government is wicked I would doubt Paul would endorse it.
2 Peter 2:10
But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
Peter in this verse is not talking about those rebelling against a repressive, wicked, and immoral government but rather people who oppose the common good for their selfish ambitions.
Mathew 15:14
Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Christ himself speaks against leaders who lead their people astray from the Lord. The whole purpose of Romans Chapter 13 is that we should obey the authority in charge of us given of course that it is not totally corrupt and repressive. We can draw comfort that leaders are chosen by God for a purpose and that purpose is to serve the populace and God. Christ confirms this in:
Joh 19:11 - Show Context
Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
So while the Roman governor and the Jewish authorities were appointed by God they are still capable of sinning regardless of their position.
In a democracy the government is a reflection of the people. We may consider special interests groups, unions, and corporations, but when it comes down to Election Day we vote and we decide. Thus if we conclude that our government is wicked we must also conclude that the American people are wicked. While the current administration is capable of mistakes and even misjudgments that may or may not lead to sin, we as a society are not a wicked nation to be shunned by Christian world community.
If we could also look into Romans 13: 6-7 we will find that Paul commands that his followers pay taxes to the government. In the times of Jesus the tax collector was seen as an enemy and sinner. There is an apparent difference between a tax collector who steels and a tax collector who serves the Christian community or government under Christian principles. Regardless of whether the tax collector (IRS) is efficient Paul advises us to pay our taxes and to give “honor to whom honor is due.” Paul advises us to honor the police officer, tax collector, and other government officials. T-shirts, media, bumper stickers, and behavior deemed disrespectful to police officers is not advisable under the text. That is to say we have the rights of citizens to object to government actions, but we should respect those who work for the benefit of the people.
Thus I conclude that Romans 13:4 does apply to our government and all other societies that are not considered “wicked.” The police officer is good but he bears the sword not in vain. The sword (9 mm, 45 cal, etc) is not carried by officers in the field for no reason. It is used to protect citizens and to defend oneself. The officer is a “revenger” to “execute wrath” on those that do evil. In today’s society the police officer is not judge, jury, and executioner. We can assume that this verse not only applies to police officers but the court system as a whole.
Ex 19:12
And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:
Ex 21:12
He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.
Ex 21:15
And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
Ex 21:16
And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death
Ex 21:17
And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
Death penalties continue into Exodus and Leviticus, but I think you get the idea. The decision we make today is whether we wish to scrap these laws, laws given to Moses by God and simply eliminate the death penalty all together. Indeed the Vatican didn’t abolish capital punishment on “its own” soil until 1969. Centuries previous Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, and Jewish societies have used capital punishment for the sake of order and justice.
Many use the New Testament account of the stoning of the woman to justify the end of capital punishment.
John 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
I think it must be considered that Christ wrote down the sins of those that were accusing the adulterous woman. Surely it would be odd for sinful men to stone a sinful woman in a fit of self righteous. The state however is not a person and cannot be referred to us “you” but “we” or “us.” In technical terms the state cannot sin so thus it has the authority to cast the stone or does it? The message here is not whether we should be casting stones at people without a fair trial, but whether we are willing to forgive and indeed “rehabilitate people.” Christ obviously saw potential goodness in this woman commanding her to sin no more. However Christ tells of another passage that shows less objection to the death penalty common during those times.
Matthew 21:40 When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? 41 They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.
There are several messages to this parable but it is my understanding that if Christ were to be in opposition to the death penalty he would not suggest that the owner of the plantation destroy the wicked men. Also consider that adultery is not a crime in the United States and even if it was it would probably not be a death penalty case. If it were I sadly suspect that 10s of thousands of people would be executed without trial if we look at the Biblical model. However heinous crimes involving the deaths of babies, children, and many people are rather different scenarios. In California less than half a dozen people have been executed in the last 25 years. The Texas system is more effective with a couple hundred a year, but this figure pales to the murder, abortion, and suicide rate of the United States.
On the cross one of the thieves rebukes the criminal on Christ’s left declaring that their punishment was justified for their crimes. Christ could have rebuked the man saying that the death penalty should be abolished but He did not. Not to say that we should execute people for steeling but we don’t have any clear condemnation of capital punishment by Christ or his followers in the Bible.
Others look to the Commandment “Thou Shall Not Kill.” Curiously Moses authorized death punishments and wars against his neighbors shortly after coming down with the Ten Commandments. A more appropriate translation is “Thou shall not Murder.”
What does this mean? Should we scorn those who oppose capital punishment? Of course not, in fact we as Christians should push for reforms in our justice system as well as quick justice. Is it possible that we have executed an innocent man? Possible but there is no proof as of yet. In any case we should mourn those who are imprisoned unfairly as Peter and Paul were. We should forgive those that do harm to us, but not pardon them. The foes of capital punishment are decent fellows doing what they think is right, but to condemn those that support capital punishment as well as to demand early release of murderers is not advisable. Other than protesting at prison centers, we can work to thank our police officers and improve our communities. We should work to decrease crime in our neighborhoods by reporting crimes early and often when they arise. We should consider the tragic circumstances of abortion for whether you believe that to be murder or not it is a tragic loss of potential. The death penalty in a sense is our failure, but not a failure of policy, rather failure as a society to eliminate the sins of murder. Every execution should be a time to reflect not rejoice. We should not exalt ourselves, but humble ourselves acknowledging the burden of the jury and judge in deciding these cases.
