One has noticed among some believers an unsettled view of the proper Christian position regarding the current capital punishment issue. Life is so "meaningful" to some that the thought of administering capital punishment to those who have deliberately committed murder is unthinkable. Christianity and the golden rule are thought to be contrary to this practice.
We are living in what the Scriptures refer to as "the last days" (2 Tim. 3:1-9), those days just prior to the return of our Lard Jesus Christ. As believers we ought not to be surprised at the chaotic condition of this poor world. We are witnessing the fruits of man's rejection of Christ and His Word. "They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course." Psalm 82:5.
As Christians, our only refuge at such a time is the Scripture. Ignorance of it is the root of all our doubts and problems; but a knowledge of His Word brings peace and joy into our hearts as the Holy Spirit illuminates our minds.
Is capital punishment cruel, barbaric, and not suited for civilized man? Let us briefly examine a few scriptures that ought to demonstrate what God has to say about this subject. Is it not blessed to have a source to which to refer, other than our own feelings or some current philosophy?
Following the great flood, man entered into a new dispensation; that is, he was put to another test. Prior to the flood man had no right to take another's life (see Gen. 4:10, 11, 14, 15, 23, 24). But God gave Noah (man) new authority. "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made He man." Gen. 9:6. This means the responsibility for capital punishment arises out of the highest function of government—the protection of human life. Man is not individually to avenge murder, but as a corporate group he is to safeguard human life as a gift of God. This precious gift cannot rightly be disposed of except as God permits. "The powers that be are ordained of God" (Rom. 13:1).
Some have thought that "thou shalt not kill" (Exod. 20:13) does away with the thought of taking a life through capital punishment. We should note, though, that the Hebrew language uses several words to express the idea "to kill." The verb used here is a special word which can only mean murder, and always indicates intentional slaying.
It is interesting to read also that death was the punishment for over twenty other offenses in the Old Testament, such as adultery, sodomy, having sexual relations with animals, kidnapping, etc. (Exod. 22). However, we must make the difference between those which were restricted to the dispensation of the law, and the law governing capital punishment, which was divinely stated before the law of Moses, and has never been annulled, and is binding in every age of man. The authority of the sword delegated to Noah and his sons as representatives of government, is no more repealed or neutralized by the grace of the Christian revelation than it was by the righteousness of the Mosaic code. For while grace is the central idea in God's scheme for saving sinners by the cross, justice is and must be the foundation of all earthly government, Jewish or Gentile.
Does the New Testament have anything to say on the subject of capital punishment? In Acts 25:11 we see Paul before Festus, being charged with crimes punishable by death. The great Apostle of grace is saying here, as it were, "If I'm guilty, I insist I die, but if not, I appeal to Caesar." He would not have agreed to such a thing if it had been contrary to the mind of God.
Let us now look at the "government" chapter, Rom. 13 Here we learn that governments are ordained of God, one of His provisions in a wicked world. Notice Rom. 13:4. He who has been given authority "beareth not the sword in vain." In those days the executioner used a sword, and Paul is saying that he is using it for our good and protection.
We praise God for His precious Word. May we have hearts to bow to its authority, and be so saturated with it that it dominates our thinking—that as the Holy Spirit applies it to our hearts and consciences we may know how to stand in this "perilous time" for His glory.