Question:
Hi Greg,
I
am struggling with the issue of the death penalty.
I understand why Christians support the death penalty.
I know that God has commanded us to put a murderer to death.
I also understand that Jesus said that he did not come here to change one
pen stroke of Moses’ law. But how
do we reconcile Leviticus 20:10 – “If a man commits adultery with another
man’s wife, both the man and the woman must be put to death”?
And
what about the other sins like sexual perversion for which God commands us to
put a person to death?
Why
as Christians don’t we believe the death penalty is okay for these sins, but
it is okay for murder? Why didn’t Jesus command the adulteress woman to death?
A
curious Christian.
Thanks,
Russell
Answer: Dear Russell,
It
would seem that your conclusions/a priori assumptions that you state early in
your question must be challenged because as you state toward the end of your
question, what do we do about adulterers and sexual perversion?
If we executed all those in the United States who admit to adultery or
who are found guilty of sexual crimes we would reduce our population
substantially. Of course, if we go further and note that Jesus defined
adulterers as not only those who commit the act of adultery but those who
“look at a woman lustfully” (Matthew 5:27), as well as many who are divorced
(Matthew 5:31-32), then we would execute everyone.
Then, at the end the executioner would have to kill himself or herself.
Fact is, as Romans 3:23 tells us, “all have sinned and come short of
the glory of God. . .” The good news is that the verse continues “. . .and
are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ
Jesus.”
Romans
6:23 continues this thought: “For the wages of sin is death. . .”, so
capital punishment, in the New Covenant, is the wages which al humans earn.
But Romans 6:23 also has a positive second portion of the verse, “. .
.but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
So one answer to your question concerns the difference between the old
covenant and the new covenant.
The
old covenant was given to one small (compared to the world population) physical
nation (called Hebrews of Jews in the Bible), not to the world at large (called
gentiles in the Bible). The death penalty was part of the civil code of laws given to
the Hebrews/Jews. Part of the
Mosaic economy.
You
state that Jesus said he did not come to “change one pen stroke of Moses’
law.” That is not what Matthew 5
tells us. Read verses 17-20 again,
in the context of the entire chapter. For example, Jesus goes on to specifically name a number of
commands and statutes in the Mosaic economy, as well as some rabbinical
teachings, with which he differed. These
are called the antithetical statements of Matthew 5 – as they follow a
predictable pattern or formula, “You have heard that it was said. . .” –
“But I say unto you. . .” Jesus is showing that he, the eternal Son of God,
God in the flesh, is greater than the law of Moses (which the book of Hebrews
explains in great detail). Note in
Matthew 5, verses 21-22, 27-28, 31-32, 33-35, 38-39, and 43-45.
So,
as noted above, all humans are under the death penalty.
There are no 10-year, 20 year or life sentences – no parole
possibilities. But thank God, we
can be forgiven and redeemed if we accept the perfect and sufficient work of
Christ on the cross. That is the
only way – God’s grace – that we will enter the kingdom of heaven.
The other route is to try to obey the law – the old covenant – Jesus
says, “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the
teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven”
(Matthew 5:20). That is, as good and virtuous as these people were, they were
not good enough to earn their own salvation.
Jesus is saying, “if they couldn’t do it, what chance does anyone
else have?
Next
question. What did the cross do?
Forgive us of our sins, but continue to keep us under the Mosaic economy.
No, once again, Matthew 5, the passage you noted, shows us that Christ
fulfilled the law and the prophets. The
significance of the cross is that the old covenant ended – we no longer live
under its rules and stipulations. Romans,
Galatians, Hebrews, Colossians, among many other New Testament books and
passages explain this. There are
ways that Christians will behave, fruit that Christ will produce in us as he
lives his life in us – and behaviors that are completely opposed to the new
covenant. These are explained in the New Testament – and many of
course are based upon the foundation of the old covenant.
But not all. The New
Testament defines those issues for us.
So,
we are all under the death penalty. Capital
punishment applies to all humans. Only
Jesus Christ can save us from this sentence.
BUT – as you also ask – how should a Christian view capital
punishment within his or her own nation?
The
Christian response has always been governed by Romans 13.
This passage teaches Christians to submit to government.
This is why Christians pay taxes, are good citizens of their countries,
etc. (as long as there is no conflict with the calling to follow Christ, as
defined throughout the New Testament). So
capital punishment in the Unites States is a matter for our government – and
of course we are a democracy, and we can express our opinion at the ballot box.
We should remember, however, that the Unites States (or any country for
that matter) is under all of the laws of either the new or old covenant.
As Christians we are strangers and pilgrims, our citizenship is in
heaven. There will be no biblically
perfect nation on earth, for nations are composed of sinful people (even
Christians of course). By the same
token, there will be no perfect church, since churches are composed of fallen
human beings.
This does not mean that we should not have an opinion about issues like capital punishment. However, at the end of our debates we should return to Romans 13 and realize that there is a separation between church and state in our country, and that the state determines laws and policies such as capital punishment.
In
Christ,
Greg Albrecht