“Given The Sword”

Saturday, November 02, 2013

Is the death penalty wrong? The Ten Commandments say "thou shalt not kill”.

Sincerely,
Life Preserver

Dear Life Preserver,

Let’s address the death penalty case first, and then we will look at the “thou shalt not kill” argument.  God has given the government the authority to issue capital punishment upon criminals.  God told Israel to stone wicked people in certain circumstances (Lev 20:27).  Paul says that God gives governments “the sword”; they are a minister of God and an avenger of wrath to those that do evil (Rom 13:4).

The Hebrew word used for ‘kill’ in the Ten Commandments literally means ‘murder’.  There is a difference between killing someone in self-defense and the intentional murder of another human being.  The Bible has plenty of examples of faithful people going to war (David killed Goliath in battle – 1 Sam 17:49-50).  The Bible is also full of examples of capital punishment for certain crimes (Num 15:35).  Num 35:15-16 makes a distinction between accidentally killing someone and murder.  A police officer may have to kill someone while serving the community, but that isn’t murder.  A government may have to execute a criminal to protect society and perform justice, but that isn’t murder.  “Thou shalt not kill” is a command for individuals (not governments) that prohibits the reckless and purposeful destruction of human life.

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