Jesus Café Ministries - Scripture Squad - What does the Bible say about the death penalty?

From: Trish
What does the Bible say about the death penalty as it's being used today in the U.S.?

Trish,
As you know, this is a controversial subject. Before answering your question we think it's important to clear up any misconceptions about God's instruction in the Ten Commandments. Early translations rendered Deuteronomy 5:17 "Thou shalt not kill." Most modern translations state, "You shall not murder" as being the correct meaning. These include The New King James, The New American Standard, and The New International Version.

Kill, as defined in the American Heritage Dictionary means, "to put to death; slay; to deprive of life." Murder, on the other hand, means, "the unlawful killing of one human being by another, especially with malice aforethought." It is clear that Cain murdered Abel. Note what God said to Cain in Genesis 4:10 The Lord said, " What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand." God does not approve of murder.

Trish, God takes life very seriously. It is the most precious gift He gives to both believers and non-believers. We are to regard life as sacred and God-given. Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the law in some states. The Bible says that we are to submit to our governing authorities. Romans 13:1 "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." 1 Peter 2:13,14 "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right." The purpose of punishment (man's law in this case) is the security of other members of our society through the restraint of the offender and deterrence of other likely offenders. We have to surrender certain freedoms to the state in exchange for protection of everyone's rights; the rationale of punishment lies in its claim to safeguard potential victims.

Example: In the United States of America we are free, we have rights, but we give up the "right" to drive our car at 60 miles an hour in a school zone. We do this to restrain the offender.

Following God means that we understand that our actions have consequences. Truly, God can forgive any sin. But even in forgiveness we must face the consequences of our actions. In fact, only recently here in the US a woman who had come to faith in God was executed for the murder she committed. She said she knew that God had forgiven her, but that because she had taken a life, she was willing to face the consequences of her actions. She repented and was forgiven. Very few today are willing to accept the idea of individual responsibility. But God says we should.

Some countries and states use the death penalty to restrain and deter possible offenders from murdering other members of society. Referring again to Romans 13:1 and 1 Peter 2:13,14 we believe that capital punishment is a Biblical principle.

- The Scripture Squad :
TCCaleb, WMomTCC & RuthCCC