Gil Rugh

Copyright © 1995
Indian Hills Community Church
Lincoln, Nebraska

Capital punishment is a highly debated issue. Even among Christians there exists a variety of opinions on its validity. One Christian chaplain, who works with inmates on death row, condemned capital punishment by saying, "When we kill them, we are allowing their evil to contaminate us. . . . Sometimes we commit evil in the name of justice."² He is not alone in his sentiment. In fact, many feel that capital punishment is another form of murder that breeds more violence. This leads us to the question. Does government have the right to execute criminals? Fortunately, the Bible gives us the answer.

Genesis 9:6 gives us the first and simplest direction relating to capital punishment:

• "Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed,
For in the image of God
He made man."

In this passage, God gives the right of capital punishment to man. If someone commits murder, they are required to die. In the debate over capital punishment, some say, "We do not have the right to take human life, only God does." That is only partly true. Ultimately, the right to take a human life belongs only to God, but God has also chosen to delegate this responsibility to man. When the government carries out capital punishment, therefore, it is acting on the delegated authority of God. So rather than usurping God’s role, man is responsible to God for executing those who murder another person.

• "For in the image of God He made man" (Gen. 9:6).

Murder is serious because man is created in God’s image. Therefore, when someone commits murder he has struck at the image of God. Man, even fallen man, is sacred in God’s sight. God gave him a special place in creation. Notice that men are not to be executed for chopping down a tree, stepping on a worm, or killing an animal. God did not create those creatures in His image. But killing a man is a capital offense because he was made in God’s image. Capital punishment, therefore, is not a humanitarian issue. It is a justice issue. One reason there is so much debate about capital punishment is because our society does not understand justice. It has abandoned God and any fixed standard of right and wrong.

There is some debate whether the command for capital punishment in Genesis 9:6 is for today. After all, we do not keep all the commands given in the Old Testament. For example, we do not sacrifice animals today as they did in Old Testament times. How can we be sure that Genesis 9:6 is for today? To know this we must understand its context.

God gave the responsibility for capital punishment to Noah shortly after the worldwide flood. The instruction given to Noah in Genesis 8:21-9:17 makes up what we call the Noahic Covenant. Because the flood had destroyed all of humanity except Noah and his family, Noah is the representative of the entire human race. God, then, spoke to Noah as the head of the human race. We also do not find anywhere in Scripture where this command is revoked. If capital punishment was only temporary we would expect Scripture to tell us this. But it does not. Therefore, we have reason to believe the command is as valid today as it was then.

We see the validity of capital punishment for today in the other aspects of the Noahic Covenant that are still operative today. Put another way, if we can see aspects of the Noahic covenant in effect today, this helps show that God’s instruction for capital punishment is also in effect for today. And this is the case. For example, God promised Noah that seasons would exist:

"While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
And cold and heat,
And summer and winter,
And day and night
Shall not cease" (Gen. 8:22).

Before the flood, the entire planet probably had a tropical environment, but the flood brought radical changes to the environment, one result of which is the changing seasons. Obviously, God’s revelation about seasons continues to this day.

Also, the timeless nature of the Noahic Covenant can be seen in God’s promise to never destroy the world again with a flood:

"All flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth. . . . I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth" (Gen. 9:11-13).

God promised Noah that He would never again destroy the earth with water. The rainbow would be the sign of this promise. Again, this clearly applies today. In the middle of this section is the instruction for capital punishment (Gen. 9:6). We, therefore, have good reason to believe that God’s command for capital punishment is also in effect for today.

Other passages of Scripture give us insight into God’s plan for capital punishment. Exodus 21:12 states, "He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death." This parallels the instruction God gave Noah in Genesis 9:6. Notice that God does not say that He personally will put them to death. It is implied that the leaders of Israel were to carry out the execution of a murderer. We also see that capital punishment is not for accidental killing:

"But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee. If, however, a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as to kill him craftily, you are to take him even from My altar, that he may die" (Exodus 21:13-14).

Here, God makes a distinction between unintentional killing and maliciously taking another person’s life. Back in Moses’ day, if a person was killed whether by accident or intentionally, a near relative of the person killed would take it upon themselves to avenge his relative’s death. But God made provision for avoiding the death penalty if the killing was accidental. He appointed cities to which the person responsible for the killing could flee to until the true nature of the crime could be determined.

God, then, clearly distinguishes accidental killing from murder. If someone were to run out in front of our car and die, that would not be murder. However, if we intentionally drove off the road onto the sidewalk to kill someone, then we would be guilty of a capital offense. Capital punishment, therefore, is for intentional murder, not accidental manslaughter.

One morning, as I was reading the local newspaper, I came across an editorial in which a person was arguing against capital punishment. He thought that executing murderers was murder itself. To support this he quoted Exodus 20:13: "Thou shalt not kill." His point was that we should never use capital punishment because the Bible says we should not kill. Is this point valid? Common sense demands that God’s command in Exodus 20:13 to not kill does not contradict the command in Exodus 21:12 to execute a murderer. This man’s argument is a classic case of pulling Scripture out of context to suit his own opinions. The command in Exodus 20:13 (as translated in the Authorized Version) to not kill obviously refers to murder. In fact, the New American Standard Bible correctly translates this, "You shall not murder." Yet God says in Exodus 21:12 to put to death murderers. Therefore, the command in Exodus 20:13 does not refer to executing criminals convicted of murder. If it did, the Scripture would contradict itself and not make sense.

Executing a convicted criminal is not murder according to Scripture. And there are other cases given in Scripture where killing is not considered murder. For instance, God commanded the Israelites to kill all the Canaanites in the promised land. This obviously was not considered murder. In 1 Samuel 15:2-3 God told Saul to wipe out all of the Amalekites. When Saul disobeyed, God sent the prophet Samuel to rebuke King Saul for not killing Agag, the king of the Amalekites. Again, God’s command to Saul to kill the Amalekites was not a command to murder. In fact, Samuel did what Saul refused to do, namely, hewing Agag to pieces (see 1 Samuel 15:33). We must be careful to keep the Bible in context so we do not make nonsense of what it says.

Justice is the primary reason for capital punishment. Retribution is required for striking at the image of God. Scripture, however, does suggest a secondary reason for the death penalty — deterrence. Even if capital punishment did not deter crime it would still be right because it is just. But justice properly carried out does have a deterring effect on crime. Deterrence can be seen in the following example:

"And the man who acts presumptuously by not listening to the priest who stands there to serve the Lord your God . . . that man shall die; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel. Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will not act presumptuously again" (Deuteronomy 17:12-13). [emphasis mine]

This passage teaches that disobeying the priest of Israel, when he decided on judicial matters, meant that person was to be put to death. As a result, the rest of the people would be afraid and not be tempted to act in such a manner.

Countries that carry out justice quickly and severely usually have low crime rates. For instance, in nations such as Saudi Arabia and China the crime rate is low. Why? Punishment is given quickly and people are afraid to break the law because of the consequences. When I visited China, I was amazed at how the people could leave valuables unattended without worry of anyone stealing them. People could also walk freely at night with no fear of being mugged. We might not always agree with how those nations govern, but the people in these countries have less fear of being a victim of a crime.

When justice is slow, however, almost no deterrent to crime exists. This principle is found in Scripture, "Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore, the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil" (Ecclesiastes 8:11). In other words, when justice is slow, criminals feel more free to commit evil acts because they do not fear punishment. When the government takes many years to execute someone convicted of a capital offense, this dilutes the deterrent to doing evil and criminals are more willing to take chances. Criminals in our society know that if they commit murder, a good chance exists they will not have to face the death penalty and even if they do it will not be for many years. Under these circumstances, there is little if any deterrent.

How did Jesus view capital punishment? Jesus did not give specific instruction concerning it but his meeting with Pilate in John 19 is insightful. When Pilate told Jesus he had the power to release or crucify Him, Jesus said, " ‘You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above’ " (John 19:11). He did not argue with Pilate about capital punishment or tell him it was wrong. In fact, Jesus recognized Pilate’s power to carry out capital punishment but reminded Pilate that this authority came from God.

Nothings in Paul’s life or letters suggest he did not agree with the right of the government to execute criminals. When he was under arrest and defending himself before Festus, the Roman governor of Judea, Paul said, "If then I am a wrongdoer, and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die" (Acts 25:11). In this situation, Paul acknowledges the right of Festus to carry out capital punishment. No debate occurred whether the death penalty was right or not. Paul was aware of the abuse of justice that often took place in the Roman government. After all, the Romans even killed Christ. Yet that did not cause him to reject the right of the Romans to carry out the death penalty. In fact, Paul was willing to accept the death penalty if it could be shown he had done something worthy of death.

In the mid 1990’s the nation was shocked at the separate killings of two abortion doctors in Pensacola, Florida. In one murder case, the man who did the killing was an ordained Christian minister. This man claimed that to kill an abortion doctor was "justifiable homicide,"³ which is the taking of someone’s life for supposed moral reasons. The reasoning is this: if someone commits a wrong act, and the government will not do anything about it, then the individual has the right to execute justice on his own. But do we, as Christians, or any individuals have the right to take a person’s life for moral reasons?

As we have seen, the right of capital punishment lies with the appointed authorities. Nowhere in the Bible are individuals given the right to take the law into their own hands. Romans 12:17 states, "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone." Romans 12:19 also says, "Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,’ says the Lord." Vengeance and justice are not the responsibility of the individual. For instance, if someone were to drive by my house at 70 mph, I would not have the right to chase them down and throw them in jail. Although they committed a crime, I do not have the authority or right to prosecute them. Only the proper authorities have that responsibility.

Taking the law into one’s own hands is never justified, even to stop abortion. Make no mistake, abortion is a heinous sin. But no individual has the right to take someone’s life. That is only the right of the government. Vigilantes who carry and quote their Bibles while they break the law bring disgrace to the name of Jesus Christ and are in direct rebellion with Scripture. 1 Peter 4:15 states, "By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler." God nowhere gives individuals the right to take the life of someone else. If they do, they themselves are a murderer.

Taking the law into one’s own hands is not only unbiblical, it also can work against Christians. Some people strongly disagree with the views of evangelicals. Should they be allowed to disrupt our services and kill pastors whom they disagree with? Most Christians would be appalled at this idea but some Christians would be supportive of illegally disrupting the activity of unbelievers. But when people take justice into their own hands anarchy results and society dissolves.

This file was converted from Adobe PDF format to HTML by Tony Capoccia of Bible Bulletin Board (BBB) (www.biblebb.com). Permission was received from Indian Hill Community Church for the conversion and the posting on BBB. Our gratitude to the Holy Spirit for leading Pastor Gil Rugh to preach/teach messages that are bold, and doctrinally sound—they are so needful to this generation.

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