The death penalty

I recently sent an e-mail to a guy who wrote an article at http://www.str.org/free/studies/capipuni.htm which says it is our duty to carry out the death penalty. I thought I would share it with the rest of you. You should probably have the page I am referring to available when you read this, since I refer to his sections in the message.




I am writing about an online article you have published at http://www.str.org/free/studies/capipuni.htm by Gregory Koukl. It is an argument supporting implementation of the death penalty on this side of Calvary.

I disagree with your argument, and believe I can support Biblically (which is the only way to argue a theological point regarding Christianity), that we are no longer directed by the Lord to carry out the death penalty in any situation.

I do not disagree with your points in section I-A. So starting with I-B:

In I-B-1, you quote John 19:11, Romans 13:1-2, and 1 Peter 2:13-14 to support your assertion that God ordains governing authorities.
John 19:10 reads, "Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?" This puts John 19:11 in a more clearer context the point Jesus was trying to get across to Pilate. Pilate was boasting that he personally had the power to determine whether Jesus could live or die. Jesus's statement in John 19:11 does not show that God ordained Pilate, but rather that the only one who has control over life and death is the the Lord. A mugger could make a statement similar to John 19:10 to a victim when demanding that the victim hand over his wallet. Whether the mugger could actually kill the victim would be dependent on the power God allowed the mugger to have. God does allow unjust killings like capital punishment to happen, even though they are still sin in His eyes.


In response to Romans 13:1-2, I ask you to read Acts 5:27-29: .

27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,
28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.
29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

So did Peter and the other apostles opposed the ordinance of God, or did they submit to God's law to spread the Word when the ruling authority forbade them to do so? When the laws of man come in conflict of the laws of the Bible, are duty as Christians is to break the laws of man and submit only to the laws of our Lord. Also read Luke 12:4-5 in which Jesus says:

4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

We should submit to governing authorities only when it does not put us in contradiction to God's will.



In I-B-2, you quote Romans 13:3-4 and Acts 25:11 to support your statement that governments may practice capital punishment.

If we take Romans 13:3-4 as absolute, we have to reconcile the fact that Paul was martyred by Nero for professing allegiance to Christ instead of Caesar. Also we know that Saul was anointed in 1 Samuel 10:1

1 Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?

But did he not try to kill David in 2 Samuel 3:1?

1 Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.

The only way I see to reconcile this is to again go back Acts 5:27-28 and Luke 12:4-5. As long as the government ruling over us is ordained by God and does not require its citizens to break any of God's laws, we must submit to it. But there are numerous examples of governments such as Germany under Hitler, the Soviet Union under Stalin, Cambodia under Pol Pot and Iraq under Saddam Hussein, which were not carrying out just executions. In these cases we can clearly see that not all governments are working for God's glory.

Paul says in Acts 25:11 that he would submit to the death penalty if ordered, but that does not mean that he endorsed its use. He was obeying our Saviour's teaching in Matthew 5:38-39:

38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Paul would not submit to the death penalty because it was justified by Christ's teachings, but only because Christ taught that the power of those on earth who would come against us is limited to this world only. Our reward is in heaven, and we should not lose focus on God because of offenses committed against us on earth.

Your assertions in I-C were either not supported by Scripture or I will get to them shortly in my argument against the use of the death penalty. I agree with your statements in I-D but will try to show how not carrying out the death penalty is not in violation of the Law. I also did not see any Scriptural support for any statements you made in section II.


Scripture text is at the end of this paragraph:

First, in Esther 4:10 we see that the scepter was used by the king in the determination of the death penalty for an individual. I think it also refers to those who approach Jesus in the afterlife. Next, in Genesis 49:10 we see that the scepter will remain with Judah until Shiloh comes, which was fulfilled when He did come. The HCSB translation uses "He whose right it is" in place of Shiloh, which I think is interesting in the context of who has the right to determine who should live or die. We also know that if the scepter was not removed, the Jews would have been allowed to stone Jesus to death for blasphemy which would not have fulfilled the prophecy of His crucifixion. When I look to see what Jesus said about the death penalty, the only thing I see is John 8: 7 - which seems to go along with Genesis 49:10 since "He whose right it is" is also "the one without sin among you" for the argument that Jesus would be the only one who should determine an individual's fate. He also instructed us in Matthew 5:38-39 to turn the other cheek rather than seek revenge, and Paul also writes in Romans 12:17-31 we should not seek revenge ourselves since vengeance belongs to the Lord. So it appears to me that once the scepter of capital punishment was removed, we were left with instructions to not mete it out ourselves but to leave punishment to the Lord.

Est 4:10
“All the royal officials and the people of the royal provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner courtyard and who has not been summoned— death. Only if the king extends the golden scepter will that person live.

Ge 49:10
The scepter will not depart from Judah, or the staff from between his feet, until He whose right it is comes and the obedience of the peoples belongs to Him

John 8: 7
When they persisted in questioning Him, He stood up and said to them, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Matthew 5:38-39
“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

Romans 12:17-21
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Try to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone. Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord. But If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.


on edit - had to but a space between my :'s and 7's, because they were showing up as smileys.

I support the DP, mostly for extreme cases, pedophelia, etc. not robbery.

The funny thing with me is that I was pretty right-wing when I wasn't a believer. Accepting Christ has made me liberal on more issues than any other experience in my life. The DP was one issue I really moved way left on.