“Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death.” Leviticus 24.17

Murder was not the only sin for which capital punishment could be applied under the Law of God.

Capital punishment was also called for, among other situations, in cases of adultery, rape, recalcitrance, idolatry, and homosexual practice. In ancient Israel all these offenses were seen as being hostile to the divine economy of love for God and neighbors and subversive of the institutions created by God to ensure a just society. Those accused of such offenses were brought to trial, convicted (by the testimony of 2 or more witnesses), and stoned by the members of the community. It was harsh and brutal justice, to be sure.

But let’s remember that the people of Israel did not have a heart for God, no, not even after all they had seen Him do throughout the course of their deliverance from Egypt and wandering through the wilderness (Deut. 5.29). The Spirit of God had not yet been given so that they could learn, love, and obey the Law of God from the heart (cf. Deut. 30.1-10; Ezek. 36.26, 27).

Moreover, the surrounding cultures, where such sins as those mentioned above were more common, and were frequently associated with pagan deities and worship, offered a continual threat to Israel’s wellbeing. Thus, while these penalties seem harsh to us, they were altogether appropriate in their place and time.

In their place and time.

But we must not seek a one-to-one application of the death penalty for our day. The sins for which it was the punishment in ancient Israel are still sins today. But we live now in a time when the power of grace to transform even the worst of sinners is closer and more readily available than it was to the people of Israel. While government still has the right to bear the sword against evildoers (Rom. 13.1-4), Christians must work to create space and allow time for grace to work in the lives of those whose offense has been judged to deserve capital punishment.

Moreover, there are certain sins for which the Old Testament required capital punishment which would not seem to merit that punishment today, no doubt due to differences in historical and cultural settings. In the New Testament many who became believers had at one time hated their parents, practiced idolatry and homosexuality, or committed adultery and fornication – all of which remain sins in the minds of New Testament writers. These people were living testimony to the power of God’s Spirit to create new beginnings for even the worst sinners.

Christians today should support public policies that make room and allow time for God’s grace to work in people’s lives. We do not deny the sinful nature of such practices, or try to redefine them in a manner more in line with the spiritus mundi; yet we do not believe that capital punishment is, in this age of grace, the proper application of justice for such sins as can be remediated by repentance and faith in Christ.

We create room for such repentance by giving sinners, and especially those condemned to die, access to the Word of God through the ministries of churches and other Christian agencies. We create time for them to repent through the lengthy appeals process of our judicial system. We do not “downgrade” the sinful state of the aforementioned practices. Nor do we remove from particular governments the right to enact such judgments and penalties as can be shown to be consistent with Biblical practice and rationale.

Over all, however, Christians must contend for the preciousness of life and the priority of love, even as they rest in the authority of the State to administer just policies.

We do not deny the validity of capital punishment, but we do not support the use of it with haste or without the opportunity for grace to do its life-changing work in even the worst of sinners.

T. M. Moore

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