“Court Conundrum”

Sunday, June 29, 2014

An atheist friend of mine asked me if I supported the death penalty.  Thinking back to the Old Testament, I know they stoned people for certain offenses, so I answered, “Yes.”  I have been thinking about it a lot in a New Testament context, and I haven’t been able to come up with any passages that address this.  One big problem I have thought of is that if I condone the death penalty, then I am in a sense taking away that person’s chance to repent and be baptized later in life.  I believe in some of the lists of sinners in several New Testament books, murderers are included (idolaters, sexually immoral, murderers, etc.) in the phrase "such were some of you".  Are there any passages in the New Testament that address the death penalty under the New Covenant?  And if not, are there any principles that can be applied to figure out what God’s will is on this subject?

Sincerely,
Looking For Laws

Dear Looking For Laws,

The death penalty is a function of the government, and, as you said, when God designed Israel’s government, He believed certain deeds were worthy of the death penalty (such as blasphemy – Lev 24:16).  God’s attitude hasn’t changed about the death penalty (Heb 13:8, Mal 3:6).  What has changed is that God’s people are no longer a physical nation with national laws.  Christ’s church exists within all the nations of the world, and we must abide by our respective government’s laws (Rom 13:1-2).

So, is it okay for a government to put people to death for certain crimes?  The answer is ‘yes’.  God specifically says that He has given governments the authority to punish evildoers, and that governments are used by God to sustain order and be His avengers of wrath upon those that do evil (Rom 13:3-4).  Obviously, not all government decisions are good ones, and God never condones immorality, but in the case of the death penalty, governments are on solid ground when they execute justice.

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