Mike Clement
The question was asked: There's been a lot of discussion on the death penalty. It appears that the Bible supports the death penalty, but Christians seem that seem to differ on their opinions of it. So the best thing that we can do is go back to God's Word and find out what God's Word has to say about it. I'm gonna turn to Genesis 9 beginning with verse 5. And this is where God is speaking to Noah after flood is over and Noah and his family are coming out of the Ark. It says, "Then surely the blood of your lives will I require, at the hand of every beast will I require it. At the hand of man, at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made He man." And so here we've got the foundational text that is used by believers to support the concept of the death penalty. It's an Old Testament teaching, but just because it's in the Old Testament doesn't mean that it's of no value. Jesus oftentimes referred to the law (the Old Testament) and we believe today that we're not under the bondage of the law as believers. But we are underneath all of scripture, since scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. So here's this raging debate. And oftentimes people that raise the issue of the death penalty are professed to be Christians, and they don't believe in it, Dave. What are some of the things that you've heard?
David Clement
I've heard many times over the years the statement that is found in The Ten Commandments and that is "Thou shalt not kill". You hear people say that when they're picketing the death penalty or a death sentence, oftentimes there's a sign that states "Thou shalt not kill". And what that's referring to murder, and again as Genesis pointed out, we are created in the image of God. And that's why there's the death penalty for a person that took another person's life, they committed murder, so their life was required of them. And that's what God stated. We see specifically when we go back to the beginning of creation where God created a man and female, and He created them in the image of Himself. And so that's the uniqueness there. We are totally unique to all the other beings that are here on Earth because the animals and the fish and the birds, they were not created in the image of God, but we human beings are. And so to strike out and murder somebody, as that passage says, is to strike out against the image of God.
Mike Clement
Okay, so what do we do with other things like war, what's the difference? Is there a difference between the death penalty from the government and somebody taking the life of another person and committing murder?
David Clement
The passage that you read there in Genesis, those six or nine verses, that was before government was established. That was right after the flood. It wasn't until later on that governments were established, that God Himself established them. And so He gave the governments rights and authorities in different areas to govern and to protect people, to make sure things were run properly. And one of the authorities that He gave them was the death penalty, and to be able to judge and to cast those things upon them. But police officers, soldiers, military, those all have the backing of the authority of the government behind them. That doesn't mean they can abuse it in any way, and there are definitely those that do, but they do have the authority of the government. And so they have that authority backing them as when they are carrying out those duties - if that's necessary to take another person's life, they're doing it under the authority of the government.
Mike Clement
I'd like to just share a couple of other verses. Now we're talking about the New Testament, Acts 25. This is where the Paul has been arrested, and actually he was arrested because he was falsely accused and he spent a fair amount of time in prison and eventually ended up in Rome itself. Paul is giving his defense, he says in verse 10 "Then said Paul, I stand at Caesar's judgement seat where I ought to be judged to the Jews. Have I done no wrong, as they're very well know us. For if I be an offender or have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die, but if there be none of these things where have these accused me, no man may deliver me unto them I appeal unto Caesar. So you've got a number of things here. The apostle Paul actually had a number of confrontations with those that were his accusers. They couldn't really prove anything. And in fact, in one place they were plotting to have him transferred to another venue and then murder him along the way. So if his enemies were confident that he had done something worthy of death, then they could have just gone through the court procedure, but they wouldn't do that. They were going to kill him, they were going to murder him. And finally the apostle Paul, having gone through all these things and jumping through all these hoops, he says, "I appeal to Caesar." And what he did was he used his right as a Roman citizen. And Dave, you and I both are well aware that we live in a day and age where all kinds of people talk about their rights, but they don't talk about the responsibilities. And here the apostle Paul has both. He says, "If I'm guilty of something worthy of death, then so be it. I won't appeal that. But if I'm innocent, then I should have a trial and I should be found innocent." So here you've got submitting to authority and yet at the same time acknowledging that government has the right to do that.
