What Is The Biblical Stance On The Death Penalty?

The typical defense for capitol punishment would probably stem from quoting the Old Testament laws. It should not need to be argued that we are now under a better covenant of Grace, and no longer under the law of works; that is, doing the deeds of the law in order to be seen as righteous before God (which by the way, was never the intention of the law). John 3:17 “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Jesus made it clear in Matthew 5:28 that a married man who lusts after another woman has already committed adultery (punishable by death under the old covenant) in his heart. And in Matthew 5:21-22 we read “21 Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” In other words, if we were to seek to be judged by the law, no man could escape the death penalty, because God looks on the heart, as well as upon the deeds of a man.

I feel that reading the following three passages is plenty sufficient to see what a Christian should think about the death penalty.

Ecclesiastes 9:4 “For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion."

II Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise [to return], as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

Ezekiel 33:11 “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” [Emphasis added]

When you take into consideration that God wants all to come to repentance, then it should seem clear that capitol punishment is the act of taking that opportunity away from an unrepentant heart. If certain death is aimed at an unsaved person, is it better to let that person die, or would it be better for a saved person to sacrifice their life to save the guilty, thereby affording them another opportunity to repent? I sincerely hope that a Christian stands on Scripture, and not on any opinion, or upon anger over a crime committed against them, or someone they love. God is willing that ALL come to repentance. Yes that word all means exactly what you would think it means. It means everyone, committers of every crime under the sun.

Jesus is now the judge of all mankind according to John 5:27. God has taken judgment away from sinful men, and given it to the sinless Messiah “because He is the Son of man”. As a man, He can judge man, and as the sinless Son of God, He can judge righteously. Putting a criminal in prison, is one thing, but taking his life, is another all together, because you are taking his right to the opportunity for repentance, and thereby playing God. Remember the woman caught in adultery, who was brought before Jesus? That was an offense punishable by death under the old covenant, and it was of particular offense to God, as evidenced by the fact that through out the Scriptures He compared idolatry, the worship of false gods, to spiritual adultery, see Jeremiah chapter 3 for example. Yet Christ said to her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more”. God is the One who decides the time for a soul to leave this earth, and He is very much more merciful than we are.

For an example of God’s Mercy, compared to our own, see Jesus’ parable in Matthew 18:23-35 “21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents [about 160,000 years wages in Christ’s day]. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him an hundred pence [about 100 days wages in Christ’s day]: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” Jesus makes it clear that the debt in this parable represents sins, or trespasses. God forgave a man of roughly 160,000 years wages worth of sin, and the man in the story could not even forgive a hundred days wages worth of sin against himself. And Jesus also makes it clear that if we cannot forgive the small debts worth of trespasses that we have endured, we will not be forgiven of the insurmountable debt we owe to God.

At the end of the day, all sin is against God, and so God is the One who should decide when a person’s final opportunity for repentance has come. If someone hurts you or someone you love, and you feel a burning desire for “justice” which is usually merely revenge, then you need to remind yourself of your 160,000 years wages worth of sin against God, and remember that demanding payment by the one whom you feel owes his life, also requires that you pay your full debt to God, which is so much greater than the debt owed to you.

As an aside, I will say that this is the reason I hate revenge in film, because the acts of the antagonist against the protagonist are usually done in order to get the audience passionate and eager for the death of, or revenge upon the antagonist. This is actually a subtle form of brainwashing. Not that every movie that uses the revenge premise is attempting to intentionally brainwash it’s audience, I would even contend that most, or perhaps all movie makers who utilize this premise are not intentionally attempting to brainwash the audience, but it does usually have the effect of indoctrinating the audience to accept an ungodly act such as revenge. Vengeance belongs to God alone, Romans 12:19.

Back to the capitol punishment issue, let’s wrap things up with a little role-playing. This is really only for those who believe in an after life, as well as divine judgment. Imagine the person that you love the most. Parents might think of spouses, or children, others may think of family members, or close friends. Imagine if that person was not saved, and they committed a heinous crime, and were going to be punished by death. Would you want that person to be allowed to live out their life in prison, with a continued opportunity to be saved, or would you be content with having their life snuffed out, thereby eliminating their opportunity for repentance? Does God want that person to be punished more than He wants them to repent and be saved?

A living dog is better than a dead lion.