| August 27, 2000 |
Vol. III, No. 17
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MANY OPINIONS. On what basis can we decide whether capital punishment is good or bad? Our best legal minds differ. In the present discussion each person becomes his own standard. But there is a higher authority in matters of right and wrong. That authority is God and He has revealed His standards in the Bible.
LIFE REQUIRED FOR LIFE. Long ago God expressed His will in this manner: “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man” (Gen. 9:6). Respect for life requires that life be required for life. We live in a society that does NOT respect life. It is possible to commit murder and remain in prison for only a few years. Armed robbery usually carries an equal, or greater, sentence. Consequently, the criminal will frequently murder any witnesses in order to increase his chances of escape. This is a terrible miscarriage of justice as well as the ultimate disrespect for life. Yet we see endless pleas made in behalf of the murderer based on the misguided notion that the death penalty shows disregard for life and represents cruel and unusual punishment.
THE LAW OF MOSES. God gave a law through Moses to the Israelites. It was a strict, but balanced system, which held life in great reverence. So esteemed are its concepts that much of our legal system has been influenced by it. But in recent years our courts have been influenced by those who consider themselves more enlightened.
Although God did not intend that we live under the law of Moses, it does reveal to us the mind of God in the matter of the death penalty.
JUSTICE UNDER THE LAW. The law given through Moses to the Israelites contained the command, “You shall not kill” (Ex. 20:13). The word translated “kill” means “murder.” “You shall not murder.” The law of Moses prohibited murder and authorized the civil authorities to take the life of the murderer, Lev. 24:17.
It shall be noted that the law of Moses contained several safeguards against the miscarriage of justice. Perjury was not taken lightly. One of the ten commandments forbade the bearing of false witness, Ex. 20:16. Also, the accused must have been observed in the act by two or more witnesses, Deut. 17:2-7. The death penalty was not invoked in instances of circumstantial evidence. These principles preserved justice with respect for life for fifteen hundred years among those who kept the law of Moses.
LAW MISUNDERSTOOD. Some think of the law of Moses as a vengeful law because of a misunderstanding of some of its precepts. For example, the statement, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” is thought by some to be a statement of vengeance. It did not justify vengeance. It prohibited vengeance. It protected the accused from receiving punishment worse than his crime. If a neighbor knocked out your tooth, the law prohibited you from burning his house.
FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST. The followers of Christ realize that murder is wrong and look to civil government to punish the murderer. See Rom. 13:1-4. God has authorized the governments of the world to maintain order. The state should require the life of the murderer. This results in an orderly society by putting fear into the heart of the one who has no respect for life.
The apostle Paul knew the mind of Christ. He said, while making his own defense, “If then I am a wrongdoer, and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die...” (Acts 25:11). This apostle of Jesus did not protest the death penalty. He accepted it as just in instances where the crime justified death. Jesus warned that civil government would take the life of the murderer when He said, “Put your sword back unto its place; for all who take up the sword shall perish by the sword” (Matt. 26:52).
DETERRENT. The death penalty is a deterrent because a murderer put to death will never murder again. Some convicted murderers repeat their heinous crime again and again while in prison serving life sentences. Others escape from prison and murder again before they are apprehended.
CONCLUSION. A society cannot long endure without respect for life. If crime is allowed to increase unchecked, it will unravel the very fabric of our society. Even a brief look at history will demonstrate this. Will we fail to learn the lessons of history? If so, we are doomed to repeat them.
--Robert L. Schales
After sternly rebuking Peter for allowing his human emotions to cloud his commitment to God's will, Jesus declared, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then he will reward each according to his works" (Matt. 16:24-27).
Peter loved his Lord. He acknowledged Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. And to Peter was given the distinct privilege of being the one to first announce to both Jews and Gentiles the terms of admission into the church or kingdom of God. But Peter allowed his emotional love to block his intellect to the point that when Jesus revealed the up-coming crucifixion, Peter rebuked Him, saying, "This shall not happen to You."
Jesus, in turn, rebuked Peter for putting his human emotions above the revealed will of God. The crucifixion was a part of God's eternal plan to redeem sinners to Himself. Of course, at this early point in time, Peter did not understand that Divine plan. Later, under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit, Peter understood the importance of the crucifixion, and that it was the only way the penalty of sin could be met, and the sinner set free. See 1 Peter 1:18-20.
In the context of this exchange between Jesus and Simon Peter, Jesus took this occasion to remind is listeners that they must be completely committed to the will of God. He had already spoken of such commitment in chapter 10:32-38. Now again, He reminds them that not all the consequences of following Him will be pleasant. By following Jesus, they would lose some of their worldly friends. By following Jesus, they would be persecuted socially, financially, and physically. Many of them would even be persecuted to the death. In fact, early tradition tells us that the apostle Paul and all the original apostles except John were eventually put to death for their undying commitment to Jesus. And John spent much time in jails and in exile though he may not have been persecuted to the death.
But anything a person loses by following Jesus is more than repaid in this life, and much more so in the age to come. Jesus said, "Assuredly I say to you, there is no one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life" (Mark 10:29-30).
--CRJ