Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Oct/87

Contributor - Heino Blaauw

Title - Biblical Perspectives on Capital Punishment

Topic - Capital Punishment

At the time of writing this article, the Canadian National Government had recently decided against implementing procedures toward a reinstatement of capital punishment as part of its justice system. The following is the re-working of a sermon given on May 24 on the topic of Capital Punishment.

It is my conviction that the Bible affirms that capital punishment should be part of a nation's justice system. Both directly and indirectly the Scriptures contain much teaching on this issue. It is not the purpose of this article to cover all of these references. Rather, this article will focus on the Biblical and theological underpinnings which support capital punishment.

I begin this Biblical argument, not with the issue of capital punishment itself, but with the Scriptural view of government. Romans 13:1-7 is scripture's most notable passage on government and it asserts a very high view of government. In these verses we read that government is an authority instituted by God (v. 1), that the government official is a servant of God (v. 4), and that government authorities are ministers of God (v. 6). In other words, government, like the church, has been ordained by God for our society. It is not just a necessary evil but a positive good for our society. It exists not just for the sake of the people of society, but for the sake of God. Therefore it has rights and obligations before God as it is a representative of God here on earth.

The purpose of government is pointed out in verse four. It is, "to execute wrath on the wrong doer", or, in a word, to execute and promote justice (cf. also I Peter 2:13-14). Government has been ordained by God in order to represent His justice in society. Our God is a Just God and one expression of this justice is to be found in government. The context of Romans 13 further confirms this teaching. In Romans 12:17-19 the apostle Paul, writing on the level of personal conduct, instructs Christians not to avenge themselves but to leave vengeance to God who will take care of justice. How does He do this? One means is through government (13:4) which He has instituted.

The fact that government represents God's justice has significant implications for the purpose of punishment - a necessary task of government. Why does government punish wrong-doers? One reason is for the sake of society. A criminal is sent to prison in order to protect society from further wrong he might do. Another social use of punishment is deterrence. Potential criminals are hindered from misbehaviour by realizing its consequences. A second reason that government punishes wrongdoers is for the sake of the criminal. This the reformist view. A judge sends a criminal to prison so that it might be a kind of therapy to reform him.

Now these are two important reasons for punishment. However, according to the Bible, they are secondary reasons. The primary purpose for punishment Is to execute and reveal to the prisoner and to society God's justice. Punishment reveals that there is indeed justice as an eternal truth with which mankind must reckon. In conjunction, it also reveals the linking truth of man's responsibility before God.

At this point it is worth noting that in our decreasingly God-fearing society, the purpose for punishment loses the eternal truths of justice and responsibility. When eternal truth is removed then the issue of capital punishment is only debated for the sake of society or the' criminal People will argue for capital punishment because society should be rid of murderers. Or they will argue against it because it is inhumane for the government to kill the highest and noblest form of life in this world, mankind. This latter argument is characteristic of Godless, humanistic thinking and its presuppositions explain why there is no capital punishment in the Soviet Union.

A Christian view of punishment is, that it reveals that one's behaviour has consequences, both now and for eternity, because mankind lives responsibly before a just God. When punishment is understood in the light of justice the procedure and type of punishment is also reflected. The basic tenet of justice is, "As you sow, so shall you reap" (Gal. 6:7). Justice is pictured by the balancing scales. Therefore, when punishment is considered in light of justice, then the type of punishment is determined by looking back at the type of crime. This is called retributive or proportionate punishment. An example of this is the well-known verses in Exodus 21:23-25 - "If there is a serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise." A just punishment is based on what the offender deserves according to the wrong he has committed.

This all leads to the question, are there crimes that justly deserve capital punishment? In the Mosaic Law of the Old Testament Scriptures numerous offenses were judged as being capital crimes. These include forms of homicide child-sacrifice (Lev. 20:2), manslaughter (Num. 35:27), keeping an ox known to be dangerous, if that ox had killed someone (Ex. 21:29); bearing false witness on a capital charge (Deut. 18:18-21); kid-napping (Ex. 21:16); insult or injury to parents (Ex. 21:15, 17); forms of sexual immorality - incest (Lev. 20:14); unchastity (Deut. 22:21, 24); adultery (Lev. 20:10-16); types of fornication (Lev. 21:9, Deut. 22:22-27); and religious offenses - witchcraft (Ex. 22:18); false claims to be a prophet (Dent. 13:5); profaning the Sabbath (Ex. 31:14).

In our society today it seems absurd to execute capital punishment on these crimes. The reason is because our nation is a different type of nation than Israel was back then. Israel was a unique religious nation and anything that threatened its religious purity was to be purged from its community. As Christians we are no longer bound by these laws. They have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. However, they do give us insight into who our unchanging God is and it should be noted that He instituted a judicial system for the nation of Israel in which the death penalty played a prominent role.

This returns us to our original question, does the Bible state in any other place than the Mosaic law that there are crimes which justly deserve capital punishment? It does. In Genesis 8:20 9:17 we have a record of the covenant that God made with Noah after the flood had subsided. Noah stands at the head of a new order of mankind and with him God makes a covenant that is universal in scope. Noah is not an Israelite. He represents all mankind and so interpretively we must understand. this passage differently than the Mosaic laws. God is here making a universal covenant with mankind (9:9) and in examining ttie promises and commands of this covenant, it is an enduring covenant. In 8:22 God promises the continuance of the earth's seasons; in 9:2 He states the dread of man by animals; in 9:3 God sanctions the eating of meat, provided it is bloodless (9:4), in 9:11 He promises never to destroy the earth again with a flood and then confirms this promise with the sign of the rainbow (9:13). All of these promises and sanctions continue on for today, as do the commandments of this covenant - not eating blood (9:4); being fruitful, multiplying and bringing forth abundantly on the earth (9:7); and Genesis 9:6 - "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in His teachings and ministry of Jesus Christ in His own image." This is the most significant verse in the Bible dealing with the issue of capital punishment. It is a verse which supports capital punishment as a just measure of punishment for the person who has taken the life of another. This punishment is to be carried out by man (a notion which implies a judicial government) and the reason for its extremity is the sacredness of human life - "for God made man in His own image".

This verse lays a Biblical foundation for capital punishment. However, it does not spell out explicit details for its execution. Later revelation from God aids in this process. Numbers 35:22-24 exempts from the death penalty those who kill accidentally. That same chapter teaches that cities of refuge were to be provided for those Israelites who had caused another's death in order that they might have a fair hearing to prove their innocence. It also stipulates in verses 29-31 that there is to be no social or economic prejudice take place in the prosecution of the criminal. Deuteronomy 17:6 indicates that before a murderer could be executed, two eyewitnesses had to confirm his guilt. Therefore there needs to be certainty of guilt. And in all of this there should be a reluctance to execute. In Ezekiel 33:1 1, God says, "As surely as I live, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live." Although His justice may require capital punishment to uphold the sanctity of life, there is a reluctance in the divine nature to impose the death penalty. Circumstances of the crime and ihe character and background of the offender must be taken into consideration. (Perhaps this is why David, Cain and Moses were not executed for their murders.)

Christians who disagree with capital punishment focus their arguments on the teachings and ministry of Jesus Christ. They argue that His teachings lead us to forgive our enemies in the realization of the sinfulness of our own hearts. They state that His ministry brought the reconciling grace of God to man, a grace which also seeks the reconciliation of man with man. To this I agree. But the crucial question concerns how we deal with Christ's truths of forgiveness and grace. The Bible teaches that is the responsibility of the church and individual Christians before God to minister His grace to mankind. However, human government has a different responsibility before God. As Romans 13 teaches it is to execute and reveal His justice. Church and government have been given different roles in society by God. The former is to dispense grace, the latter justice. And, in a sense, the church's role depends upon the government's. Grace can not be understood and appreciated in the truth of justice. Therefore Christians must work to ensure that our government administers justice in our land.

The Bible affirms that capital punishment is a just measure of punishment for crimes of deliberate murder. The death penalty should be in place in a nation's justice system. God has stated the reason for this extreme penalty in Genesis 9:6 - "For God made man in His own image." Human life is sacred. God has licensed capital punishment as the ultimate measure to affirm this truth.

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