Commentary: Bible Supports Capital Punishment

 

by Guy C LaMar

The Entire Word of God – the Holy Bible – Supports Capital Punishment

Romans 13:1-7 says to submit to the authority of civil government, reminding us that “if you do evil, be afraid; for he [the authority] does not bear the sword in vain.” In its ultimate use, the “sword” implies capital punishment – execution.

A sword in that time was like a guillotine by today’s standards. It was designed to exert an upmost of punishment. It was by one means that the authorities executed people who rebelled against the government rule.

Our Lord JESUS Himself said in Luke 22:36, “ … ‘he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.’”

Even the thief on the cross next to Jesus Christ knew that he had committed a crime and was worthy of death.

Our Lord Jesus rejected how people misunderstood the Old Testament manner of how that people were taking revenge for a wrong done – cf. Matthew 5:38-41; Luke 9:52-56.

People were acting on emotions without clear thought.

He said, “’ Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; …’” – Matthew 7:1-5.

In the case of a woman caught in the act of adultery (a capital offense in that time period). Our Lord Jesus said to those who wanted to stone her to death, “’ He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’” – John 8:7.

The apostle Paul also WARNED against taking revenge for a wrong done (Romans 12:17-21; 1st Thessalonians 5:15). Likewise, the apostle Peter WARNED us not to repay evil with evil (1st Peter 3:9).

Vengeance Is God’s To Repay.

WHERE IT IS NOT APPLIED BY GOD’S IMMUTABLE ESTABLISHED LAW

God had placed judges over people, just as we have today in the world. The soldiers in the time of Jesus were the police of today.

As it was in the time of our Lord Jesus Christ, it is also in today’s societies where it comes to people taking vengeance on their own. The apostle Peter tried to kill a soldier and ended up just chopping off the soldier's ear. Out of anger.

This is the type of vengeance God WARNS us against!

God established His Law to be enforced but under the direction of judges. A process was set in order.

Forgiveness is offered when the guilty are trying to condemn the guilty.

As was the case with the adulterous woman who was about to be stoned to death.

The ones who were going to stone her were most likely as guilty as she was.

Our Lord Jesus knew this and He called them out on it.

He said, “’ He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’”

He shows us that those who are guilty of the same crime CAN NOT condemn others for that same crime.

Most likely, these married men were fornicating with this woman at some point, cheating on their wives!?

Some Bible commentators claim that the men that wanted to stone this adulterous woman had most likely been fornicating with her at some point. She most likely had some dirt on the guys and they wanted to silence her out of fear that they would be exposed.

Or, it was a case of a man or a couple of the men, along with their male family members, backing them up to chase her down to be stoned. And when our Lord Jesus wrote on the ground, He likely was writing the names of the guys who'd slept with her. That shut them, leaders of the attack pack, really fast.

Because they knew they were as guilty as she was in such a sin.

That is when our Lord Jesus called them out and said, “’ let him throw a stone at her first.’”

That ended all that.

The point is clearly made, a sinner guilty of a sin CAN NOT condemn another for that same type of sin.

She got her instructions from our Lord Jesus at that point, go and sin no more.

Those men ate a lot of humble pie and most likely NEVER approached stepping out on their wives again!

People that think they have gotten away with a crime will pay in the long run no matter what. God says that vengeance is His.

God makes it clear that an adulterous person and their lover will be punished. A person who commits adultery is an utter fool; whoever does so destroys themselves. Meaning that their very body might be destroyed. (Proverbs 6:32).

So, if someone goes off and MURDERS -knowingly acting to take another human life, another person - then that murderer should be put to death.

God says that he HATES the murder of the innocent - (Proverbs 6:17).

The death penalty has been in force since the Book of Leviticus showed us God's Law concerning it.

The reason the world is so screwed up today is that the world rejects God's Way in favor of their own take of how things should be which equals a bunch of garbage.

We are all guilty of sin. We all have God's mercy in so many ways.

The thing we must remember is that those who commit crimes knowingly are the ones who are truly guilty.

When people go out and seek to murder others then they would be far better off dead themselves. There will come a future time when God will heal that mindset of that person to find the correct way to be.

Thy Kingdom Come! □

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Personal From ... Capital Punishment - This subject comes to the forefront of my mind because a friend of my wife’s and mine brought this very subject up in a conversation and had stated most assuredly that “we cannot raise our children the way our parents raised us. Our parents raised us to be prejudiced and segregationists.” Now, there are different issues in his statement. Yet, he conjoined those issues into one. [...]

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