September 24, 2025 • 31 mins
News of the assassination of Charlie Kirk sent another shock wave throughout the country. Now that the reality of the crime has sunk in, attention has shifted to what should be done with the alleged shooter. The tragedy occurred in Utah, and Utah is one of 27 states that have the death penalty.
President Trump is calling for it.
Anti-capital punishment groups on the other side are complaining that killing the killer is absurd and counterproductive.
Where do Christians stand in this controversy? We must know what the Bible says about it. This episode will explore the subject from the Old Testament to the New and apply relevant verses to this burning issue of today.
Read about this subject:
- Scriptures: Genesis 9:6; Acts 25:11; Romans 13:1-4
- Right From the Beginning, chapter 10: “The Death Penalty”
Listen to more on this subject:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi, I’m Kerry Duke, host of My Godand My Neighbor podcast from Tennessee
Bible College, where we see the Bibleas not just another book, but the Book.
Join us in a study of the inspiredWord to strengthen your faith and to
share what you've learned with others.
We have a problem (00:16):
people are killing each other.
It seems that every time we turnaround we hear about another shooting.
It makes no sense.
It never does.
But this is the world we live in.
What should we do about it?
Taking guns out of the hands of decent,law-abiding citizens is not the answer.
(00:38):
Turning killers loose on the streets aftera year or two in jail is not working.
It’s time to go back to what used tobe done with murderers in this country.
They were put to death.
They were hung, and thathanging was often in public.
People today may thinkthat’s awful, but it worked.
(00:58):
It struck fear into thehearts of communities.
It let criminals know they wouldbe punished if they were caught.
It sent a warning to citizens andit made a statement about justice.
But now we’ve become toointelligent to do this.
We’ve let psychologists that don’t believein God tell us what to do with outlaws.
(01:20):
We’ve followed what othercountries do with criminals
instead of using common sense.
Our courts have become weak.
Our politicians have straddledthe fence on this issue.
And as always we are paying the price.
The Bible is very clearabout the death penalty.
A man who murders deserves to die.
(01:43):
Let me repeat and emphasize that word“deserve.” When a man takes the life of
an innocent person, he deserves to die.
He ought to die.
He does not deserve to live.
When he takes the life of an innocentperson, he forfeits his right to live.
(02:04):
God established the death penaltyfor murder early in the Bible.
In Genesis 9, God spoke toNoah just after the flood.
Noah and his family were theonly ones saved from the flood.
The old world perished.
The flood reset the order of the world.
Mankind had been full of verykind of evil you can imagine.
(02:27):
So here in Genesis 9 God tellsNoah what He expects and what
He allows and doesn’t allow.
He said in verses 2 through 4 you cankill and eat animals: “…the fear of you
and the dread of you shall be on everybeast of the earth, on every bird of
the air, on all that move on the earth,and on all the fish of the sea. They
(02:52):
are given into your hand. Every movingthing that lives shall be food for you.”
But then God said humanbeings are different.
You can kill animalsfor food and clothing.
But taking the life ofa person is different.
God said in verse 5, “ Surely for yourlifeblood I will demand a reckoning;
(03:13):
from the hand of every beast I willrequire it, and from the hand of man.
From the hand of every man's brotherI will require the life of man.” A
man or beast who takes the life ofa man will pay for it—with his life!
God was even more specific in verse 6.
(03:34):
This is the first clear statementabout the death penalty in the Bible.
”Whoever sheds man's blood, by manhis blood shall be shed; For in the
image of God He made man.” To shedblood means to take life—human life.
God is warning here that murder isnot just a sin, but murder is a sin
(03:58):
that deserves the punishment of death.
If you take the life of an innocentperson, then your life should be taken.
“Whoever sheds man’s blood”—not thelife of an animal—is to be put to death.
“His blood” [the murderer’s blood]“shall be shed.” Then God gave the
reason for this severe penalty.
(04:19):
Why is murder so serious thatit deserves the death penalty?
God said it is because manis made in the image of God.
Animals are not.
God made man in His spiritual image.
We have a spirit that makesus like God who is spirit.
That spirit allows us to think and reasonand feel and choose and have a conscience.
(04:44):
Animals have none of that.
Animals are made from the dust ofthe earth just like our bodies are.
But man has a soul, an eternalspirit that no beast has.
That’s what gives a human being worth.
That’s why we are above animals.
That’s why there’s a differencebetween killing an animal for food
(05:06):
and killing an innocent human being.
“Whoever sheds man's blood, byman his blood shall be shed; For
in the image of God He made man.”
The first thing God talked to Noah andhis family about when they stepped out of
the ark was man's relationship to animalsand men's relationship to each other.
(05:28):
Now murder was wrong before the flood.
Murder has always been wrong.
The law against shedding bloodin Genesis nine is not a new law.
The first murder recorded inthe Bible is in Genesis 4.
Cain killed his own brother Abel.
God may have told them not to killeach other, but that’s not recorded.
(05:49):
But God didn’t have tospell this out for them.
The creation itself taught them.
Paul shows in Romans 1 and 2that the creation itself teaches
us that some things are wrong.
Even if a man doesn't have a written lawof God, he can still know that things
like murder and idolatry are wrong.
(06:10):
But Genesis 9 verse 6 is the firstrecorded place where God gives
the death penalty for murder.
The old world is gone.
The flood wiped the slate clean.
And the first thing God warnsabout is the crime of murder.
God is talking to Noah.
But Noah was not a murderer.
(06:31):
His wife, his sons and theirwives were not killers.
So it's obvious that God is notjust talking to Noah and his family
about the death penalty for murder.
The Lord is giving this warningfor Noah's generation and
every generation that followed.
Notice again what Genesis 9 versesix says: “Whoever sheds man's blood,
(06:52):
by man his blood shall be shed.”The death sentence is to be carried
out “by man.” Other men are to takethe murderer and put him to death.
This is not vigilante justice.
It’s not a mob execution.
God is giving MEN the authority totake that man and put him to death.
(07:15):
God in these words istalking about government.
The Lord put governmenthere to keep law and order.
He ordained civil governmentto reward good law-abiding
citizens and to punish criminals.
Sometimes they don’t dotheir job like they should.
But we’re talking about what theyhave the responsibility to do.
(07:36):
So as the world and mankind get a freshstart in Genesis 9 after the flood, God
lays the foundation for civl government.
The Lord says other menwill do the executing.
God could have taken careof murderers Himself.
He could have just struckevery killer down the first
time he took someone’s life.
(07:56):
Sometimes God did strikepeople dead in the Bible.
He had just wiped out the humanrace except for Noah and his family.
But God decreed that MEN shouldtake the killer, by force if
necessary, and put him to death.
That doesn’t mean those men whoexecute him are perfect men.
Sometimes we hear people say,“Capital punishment is wrong.
(08:19):
The Jews asked Jesus if it wasright to stone the woman who
was caught committing adultery.
But Jesus said, ‘He who is withoutsin among you, let him throw
a stone at her first.’” Jesusdid say that in John 8 verse 7.
And, many people think He’s saying thatwe’re all sinners and no one has the
(08:41):
right to judge anybody, and certainlynot to condemn a person to death.
But that is not what Jesus means.
This is one of the most misquotedand misapplied verses in the Bible.
The law of Moses gave the death penalty.
There is no question about that.
But that law didn’t say that onlySINLESS people could do the stoning!
(09:02):
That would have been impossible.
God knew full well when he gave humanbeings the authority to use the death
penalty that those same men were sinners.
But here’s the difference.
The Jews who threw those stones under theold law may have been guilty of gossip
or envy, but that didn’t put them inthe same category as a capital crime.
(09:24):
But if, let’s say for instance,some of them were guilty of murder
just like the man they were stoningfor murder, they would have no
right to throw a stone at him.
They ought to have been put in there withthe murderer and be put to death like him.
That’s what Jesus is talking about.
He’s not saying “He that is withoutsin of ANY KIND, let him throw a stone
(09:48):
at her first.” He’s saying “He thatis without the same sin this woman has
committed—the sin of adultery—let himthrow the first stone at her.” But none
of the Jewish men in John 8 would do that.
They were hypocrites, but atleast they had enough conscience
left to feel too ashamed to goany further with their fiasco.
(10:09):
And it was rotten from the start.
The law of Moses did give thedeath penalty for adultery.
But, it said the adulterer ANDthe adulteress were to be put to
death [Leviticus 20, verse 13].
The Jews in John 8 said they caughtthis woman in the very act of adultery.
So where was the man?
(10:32):
If they were so concernedabout keeping the law, why
didn’t’t they bring the man too?
Because they were guilty of the same sin.
That’s why the Bible says after Jesussaid those words about throwing the first
stone, “Then those who heard it, beingconvicted by their conscience, went out
one by one, beginning with the oldesteven to the last” [John 8, verse 9].
(10:57):
They were all guilty of the same thing,and a people guilty of the same sin as
the person accused have no right to judge.
They are condemned themselves.
So when Jesus said, “He who is withoutsin” in John 8 verse 7, He’s talking about
the sin of adultery, not sin in general.
So this is not a verseagainst capital punishment.
(11:20):
Let’s look again at what God said inGenesis 9, verse 6: “Whoever sheds man's
blood, by man his blood shall be shed;For in the image of God He made man.” God
said this in the first book of the Bibleand He never changed His mind about it.
Murderers deserve to die.
(11:40):
They are worthy of death because theyhave taken the life of a fellow human
being who is made in the image of God.
God taught this here in Genesis9 in the Patriarchal age and He
taught it later in the law of Moses.
In Deuteronomy 21 verse 22, the Biblesays, “If a man has committed a sin
(12:01):
deserving of death, and he is put todeath, and you hang him on a tree…”
The Jews who were under that law couldknow the difference between a sin that
deserved death and a sin that didn’t.
The law of Moses said that the punishmentfor some sins was paying a fine.
For instance, if a Jew stole a sheep andsold it, he was to pay back four sheep.
(12:26):
If he stole an ox and sold it, he was topay back five oxen [Exodus 22, verse 1].
They were other crimes under thelaw Moses that deserved a beating
[Deuteronomy 25, verses 1 through 3].
But they were sins that were so heinousthat God gave the death penalty for them.
(12:46):
That's why the Bible saysanyone who committed them was
worthy or deserving of death.
There were many sins other thanmurder that were punishable by death
under the law of Moses—strikingone’s parents, kidnapping people and
selling them as slaves, homosexuality,adultery, bestiality and others.
(13:07):
But the sin of murder is consistentlyshown in the Old Testament to be
deserving of the death penalty.
Numbers 35 verse 31 says, “Moreoveryou shall take no ransom for the
life of a murderer who is guiltyof death, but he shall surely be
put to death.” God said they wereto accept no ransom for this man.
(13:28):
In other words, if he or his friends orfamily said, “We will pay you any amount
of money if you’ll let him live,” thosein charge were not to take the money.
And, the law of Moses taught thatthere was a difference between
killing someone accidentally andwhat we call cold-blooded murder.
(13:49):
Deuteronomy chapter 19 talks about a manwho is swinging his axe to chop wood,
and the axe head slips off and hits theman with him in the head and he dies.
That was an accident and the lawdidn’t say to put him to death.
It also made a distinctionbetween death caused by a
fight and premeditated killing.
(14:10):
Exodus 21 verses 12 through 14 says,“He who strikes a man so that he
dies shall surely be put to death.
However, if he did not lie inwait, but God delivered him into
his hand, then I will appoint foryou a place where he may flee.
"But if a man acts with premeditationagainst his neighbor, to kill him by
(14:33):
treachery, you shall take him awayfrom My altar, that he may die.” It
is a tragic thing to cause the deathof anyone, but it is more serious
to plan it and do it intentionally.
That kind of killing deserves thedeath penalty without any question.
This is why it's ridiculousfor people to say the Bible
(14:54):
contradicts itself on this point.
Some people tell us that the verses werelooking at contradict Exodus 20 verse
13 where the Bible says “Thou shalt notkill” in the King James Version and “You
shall not murder” in the New King James.
This is an absurd argument.
Obviously, taking human life is wrongin some situations and right in others.
(15:17):
Exodus 20 verse 13 is talking aboutdeliberate killing of innocent people.
Genesis 9 verse 6 is about executingmurderers for that very thing.
God gave us life and Godhas the right to take life.
He also has the right to say whena human being deserves to die.
And, He has the right toauthorize human governments to
(15:41):
carry out the death penalty.
So think about what we’ve seen so far.
The death penalty was given by God in thePatriarchal age before the law of Moses.
Then it was given in the law of Moses.
In fact, there is more in the Bibleabout the death penalty in that part of
the Old Testament than anywhere else.
But what about the New Testament?
(16:03):
Is capital punishment allowed byGod in this, the Christian age?
There is no passage clearer aboutthis than Romans chapter 13.
Here is what the Bible says inRomans 13 verses 1 through 4.
Verse
1 says, “Let every soul be subjectto the governing authorities. For
(16:24):
there is no authority except fromGod, and the authorities that
exist are appointed by God.” Theinstitution of government is from God.
God is the One who has authority.
He delegates authorityto human governments.
That doesn’t mean that He talks to them.
It means that governmentsare like parents.
(16:46):
God gives authority tomothers and fathers.
They have a right to telltheir children what to do.
Ephesians 6 verse 1 says,“Children, obey your parents in
the Lord, for this is right.”Sometimes parents abuse that power.
They abuse their children.
They neglect their sons and daughters.
But that doesn’t change the fact that Godput a structure of authority in the home.
(17:10):
The same thing is true with governments.
It’s true that humangovernments abuse their power.
They don’t respect goodcitizens like they should.
They favor people with money.
They aren’t as just andfair as they should be.
But most governments won’ttolerate stealing and killing.
If they did, their society would collapse.
(17:31):
So they must use force at times.
Every government must deal with criminals.
That sometimes means putting criminalsto death either when police are trying
to capture violent offenders or whena prisoner on death row is executed.
When a government uses the death penaltyfor crimes deserving of death like murder,
(17:53):
they’re not acting on their own authority.
They are acting asauthorized agents of God.
Paul says in verse 2, “Thereforewhoever resists the authority resists
the ordinance of God, and thosewho resist will bring judgment on
themselves.” The King James sayspeople that resist the government
(18:15):
will receive damnation. That doesn’tmean damnation in hell in this verse.
It means the condemnationof the government.
Governments don’t tolerate rebellion well.
Paul is telling the Christians at Rometo obey and submit to the government.
And what government were theysubmitting to at that time?
(18:35):
The Roman government!
What kind of government was that?
It was a pagan empire.
The Caesars were very corrupt.
It was not a model of virtue.
And yet Paul told theChristians to submit.
Of course, the implied backdrop tothis is that Christians are to obey
the law of the land as long as that lawdoesn’t conflict with the law of God.
(19:00):
If it does, then Christians areto obey God’s law, not man’s.
When the Jewish high court told theapostles not to preach the gospel
in Jerusalem, Peter and the otherapostles said, “We ought to obey God
rather than men” [Acts 5, verse 29].
But that was and is theexception and not the rule.
(19:22):
Peter himself said the general rule isthis: “Therefore submit yourselves to
every ordinance of man for the Lord'ssake, whether to the king as supreme, or
to governors, as to those who are sentby him for the punishment of evildoers
and for the praise of those who dogood” [I Peter 2, verses 13 and 14].
(19:45):
Peter said to obey the law asfar as you can as Christians.
And notice that he says the officersthese government leaders send to enforce
the law are to do two things (19:54):
punish evildoers and praise the citizens that
do good, that is, that obey the law.
Paul warns Christians notto rebel or you’ll end up
getting the edge of the sword.
He explains this in verses 3 and 4 (20:08):
“For rulers are not a terror to good works,
but to evil.” Again, he’s stating theintended purpose of government. It’s
true that governments sometimes terrifythe good people instead of the bad ones.
But generally speaking they don’ttolerate people killing each other.
(20:29):
So Paul says that governmenthas authority from God.
He warns us not to resist their authority.
So, do you want to live your lifewithout being afraid of the authorities?
The sensible answer is yes.
Then, Paul says, here is what youneed to do so that you won’t have
to be afraid of them (20:48):
“Do you want to be unafraid of the authority?
Do what is good, and you willhave praise from the same.
For he is God's minister to you for good.
But if you do evil, be afraid; for hedoes not bear the sword in vain; for
he is God's minister, an avenger toexecute wrath on him who practices evil.”
(21:14):
Here is plain proof that the NewTestament authorizes the death penalty.
The government bears the swordand does not bear it in vain.
Roman soldiers didn’t carry a swordat their side just to look official.
They were armed with swordsin case they had to use them.
And what are swords made for?
They are not made to beat people with.
(21:35):
Clubs and sticks are for that.
Those swords were not like whips.
The Jews had whips and the Romans hadscourges, but swords were made to kill.
The sword of the government representsthe power of the government to take
life, and that power comes from God.
The sword the implies theuse of a policeman’s gun.
(21:57):
It includes the military.
God authorizes governments to usedeadly force to protect themselves from
enemies without and criminals within.
In either case, they are using the sword.
If they misuse it, then theywill answer to God Almighty.
But even then, that abuse doesnot negate what Paul is saying
(22:18):
here in Romans chapter 13.
Paul knew what it was liketo be threatened with death.
In Acts chapter 25 he appearedbefore the Roman ruler Festus.
When Festus asked him if he would bewilling to go back to Jerusalem to be
judged by the Jews, he said, “For if I aman offender, or have committed anything
(22:40):
deserving of death, I do not objectto dying; but if there is nothing in
these things of which these men accuseme, no one can deliver me to them.
I appeal to Caesar.” Paul didn’t say hehad done anything deserving of death.
He said IF he had done any such thing,then he would be willing to die.
(23:01):
Paul admitted that the deathpenalty is right when it applies
to people who deserve it.
Still, many people objectto capital punishment.
That includes nonbelievers andsome who identify as Christians.
One of the most common objectionsto the death penalty is this:
“What purpose does it serve?
If you kill the killer, you’re sendingthe message that it was wrong for him to
(23:24):
kill, but it’s okay for us to kill him.
And what good does it doto put a criminal to death?
It sure can’t help him.
He’s dead.
As a matter of fact, takinghis life means taking away any
chance he has to reform his life.
Not only that, but puttinghim to death won’t prevent
others like him from killing.
(23:45):
They’re going to do it anyway.”
That is what we’re hearing.
Now let’s respond.
First of all, punishing a killer isnot about doing what’s best for him.
It’s not about rehabilitating him.
It’s not about giving him another chance.
What about the person he killed?
That person will never haveanother chance at life.
(24:08):
But modern psychology and penaltheory are hung up on this point.
They don’t see the deeper issue.
The purpose of capital punishmentis not to reform the killer.
It is not even primarily to keepothers from committing this crime.
The purpose of the deathpenalty is justice.
It is retribution.
(24:29):
This is what God has been saying inthe Bible for thousands of years!
That’s what He means when He talksabout sins that are deserving of death!
But, for the sake of argument,let's think about the objection
that capital punishment doesnot deter or prevent crime.
Here's an important verse.
It's found in Ecclesiasteschapter 8 verse 11.
(24:53):
“Because the sentence against an evilwork is not executed speedily, therefore
the heart of the sons of men is fully setin them to do evil.” The word “sentence”
means a penalty or a type of punishment.
What happens with thatpenalty is not given?
What happens when people whodo wrong are not punished?
(25:15):
According to the so-called expertsin psychology and legal theory, there
is little if any correlation betweenpunishment for crime and the effect it
has on others who might commit that crime.
Well, that’s human wisdom talking.
What does God say?
This verse written about 3000 yearsago is the wisdom of God speaking.
(25:36):
And not only that, it's confirmedby thousands of years of
experience and common sense.
This verse says that when crime goesunpunished, there will be more crime.
The problem will get worse.
Criminals will be more bold anddaring if they think nothing will
happen to them if they get caught.
(25:56):
This is exactly what we'reseeing all around us.
We live in a generation wherepeople think there are no
consequences to their decisions.
That's true in general.
And it's tragically true in regard tocrime, especially the crime of murder.
Solomon says when you don't punishevil, “the heart of the sons of men
(26:18):
"will be "fully set in them to doevil." They will not simply do evil.
Their minds will be full of evil, andthey will do it as much as they can.
When there is no law and order, societywill be lawless and more dangerous.
On the other hand, when criminalsare brought to justice and made
to pay for their crimes, this doesput a check on others who might
(26:42):
be prone to commit those crimes.
Of course there will be exceptions.
The death penalty won’t put an endto all killing of innocent people.
This is not a blanket, universal promise.
It’s a principle.
It means that, generallyspeaking, this kind of punishment
does keep a check on crime.
And there's a very important wordin Ecclesiastes chapter 8 verse 11.
(27:05):
He says that the punishment must beadministered speedily or swiftly.
That's one reason why evencapital punishment today doesn’t
have the effect it used to.
By the time we get around to executingcold-blooded killers, it’s been
twenty or thirty years, and peoplehave either forgotten about what
he did or they don’t even know.
(27:26):
In the early days of this country,justice was handed out quickly.
There were no pointless,long, drawn-out legal battles.
The sentence was, as Solomonsaid, carried out swiftly.
And, it had a powerful effect.
The lesson from this verse is clear (27:42):
if you want to keep the crime rate down,
punish criminals and do it quickly.
Here's another objection.
Opponents of capital punishmentcomplain that it is cruel and barbaric.
Why don't they talk about what thesevicious killers did to their victims?
What about the raping, the torturing,and the stabbing and strangling of
(28:05):
innocent men, women and children?
What about taking a gun into a school orchurch and shooting complete strangers?
Why don’t these anti-deathpenalty groups spend more time
talking about the real victims?
A criminal who is honest withhimself, will admit that he's
getting what he deserves.
(28:25):
Do you remember the thief on thecross who regretted what he had done?
He didn't blame society.
He didn't look for excuses.
He admitted that he deserved to die.
The Bible says in Luke 23, “Then one ofthe criminals who were hanged blasphemed
Him, saying, ‘If You are the Christ,save Yourself and us.’ But the other,
(28:46):
answering, rebuked him, saying, ‘Do younot even fear God, seeing you are under
the same condemnation? And we indeedjustly, for we receive the due reward of
our deeds; but this Man has done nothingwrong’” [Luke 23, verses 39 through
41]. He said we’regetting what we deserve!
(29:08):
Does this mean that killing aninnocent person is an unpardonable sin?
No.
David had a man killed so that he couldhave his wife, but God forgave him.
God also commuted thesentence of death in his case.
But God doesn’t speak directlyfrom heaven today like He did then.
And, God didn’t do away with the deathpenalty when he pardoned David—in a
(29:30):
legal, as well as a spiritual, sense.
His case was an exception.
And if you think it wasn’t fair forGod to pardon him and not others,
remember that David paid for whathe did for the rest of his life.
And remember that what God saidin Ecclesiastes 8 verse 11 about
punishing crime quickly waswritten after the story of David.
(29:52):
Human governments todaymake exceptions to the law.
Sometimes they’re not fair.
But that doesn’t change theprinciple that taking human
life is a sin worthy of death.
The point is that a man can be forgivenof murder just like any other sin,
but there are earthly consequences.
Moses sinned when he didn’t giveGod the glory when he brought
(30:14):
water out of the rock the secondtime, and God punished him.
He wouldn’t let Moses go into thepromised land because of what he did
before the congregation of Israel.
God forgave Moses.
We know that because Hebrew 11says that Moses is in glory.
But he had to pay anearthly price for his sin.
And, even when Moses asked God tolessen the sentence, God said no.
There’s an old saying (30:39):
“crime pays.” And on the human side of that, we had better
do what we can to make sure it does.
Thank you for listeningto My God and My Neighbor.
Stay connected with our podcast onour website and on Apple, Spotify,
YouTube, or wherever finepodcasts are distributed.
(31:00):
Tennessee Bible College, providingChristian education since 1975
in Cookeville, Tennessee, offersundergraduate and graduate programs.
Study at your level.
Aim higher and get in touch with us today.
Hi, I’m Kerry Duke, host of My Godand My Neighbor podcast from Tennessee
Bible College, where we see the Bibleas not just another book, but the Book.
Join us in a study of the inspiredWord to strengthen your faith and to
share what you've learned with others.
We have a problem (00:16):
people are killing each other.
It seems that every time we turnaround we hear about another shooting.
It makes no sense.
It never does.
But this is the world we live in.
What should we do about it?
Taking guns out of the hands of decent,law-abiding citizens is not the answer.
(00:38):
Turning killers loose on the streets aftera year or two in jail is not working.
It’s time to go back to what used tobe done with murderers in this country.
They were put to death.
They were hung, and thathanging was often in public.
People today may thinkthat’s awful, but it worked.
(00:58):
It struck fear into thehearts of communities.
It let criminals know they wouldbe punished if they were caught.
It sent a warning to citizens andit made a statement about justice.
But now we’ve become toointelligent to do this.
We’ve let psychologists that don’t believein God tell us what to do with outlaws.
(01:20):
We’ve followed what othercountries do with criminals
instead of using common sense.
Our courts have become weak.
Our politicians have straddledthe fence on this issue.
And as always we are paying the price.
The Bible is very clearabout the death penalty.
A man who murders deserves to die.
(01:43):
Let me repeat and emphasize that word“deserve.” When a man takes the life of
an innocent person, he deserves to die.
He ought to die.
He does not deserve to live.
When he takes the life of an innocentperson, he forfeits his right to live.
(02:04):
God established the death penaltyfor murder early in the Bible.
In Genesis 9, God spoke toNoah just after the flood.
Noah and his family were theonly ones saved from the flood.
The old world perished.
The flood reset the order of the world.
Mankind had been full of verykind of evil you can imagine.
(02:27):
So here in Genesis 9 God tellsNoah what He expects and what
He allows and doesn’t allow.
He said in verses 2 through 4 you cankill and eat animals: “…the fear of you
and the dread of you shall be on everybeast of the earth, on every bird of
the air, on all that move on the earth,and on all the fish of the sea. They
(02:52):
are given into your hand. Every movingthing that lives shall be food for you.”
But then God said humanbeings are different.
You can kill animalsfor food and clothing.
But taking the life ofa person is different.
God said in verse 5, “ Surely for yourlifeblood I will demand a reckoning;
(03:13):
from the hand of every beast I willrequire it, and from the hand of man.
From the hand of every man's brotherI will require the life of man.” A
man or beast who takes the life ofa man will pay for it—with his life!
God was even more specific in verse 6.
(03:34):
This is the first clear statementabout the death penalty in the Bible.
”Whoever sheds man's blood, by manhis blood shall be shed; For in the
image of God He made man.” To shedblood means to take life—human life.
God is warning here that murder isnot just a sin, but murder is a sin
(03:58):
that deserves the punishment of death.
If you take the life of an innocentperson, then your life should be taken.
“Whoever sheds man’s blood”—not thelife of an animal—is to be put to death.
“His blood” [the murderer’s blood]“shall be shed.” Then God gave the
reason for this severe penalty.
(04:19):
Why is murder so serious thatit deserves the death penalty?
God said it is because manis made in the image of God.
Animals are not.
God made man in His spiritual image.
We have a spirit that makesus like God who is spirit.
That spirit allows us to think and reasonand feel and choose and have a conscience.
(04:44):
Animals have none of that.
Animals are made from the dust ofthe earth just like our bodies are.
But man has a soul, an eternalspirit that no beast has.
That’s what gives a human being worth.
That’s why we are above animals.
That’s why there’s a differencebetween killing an animal for food
(05:06):
and killing an innocent human being.
“Whoever sheds man's blood, byman his blood shall be shed; For
in the image of God He made man.”
The first thing God talked to Noah andhis family about when they stepped out of
the ark was man's relationship to animalsand men's relationship to each other.
(05:28):
Now murder was wrong before the flood.
Murder has always been wrong.
The law against shedding bloodin Genesis nine is not a new law.
The first murder recorded inthe Bible is in Genesis 4.
Cain killed his own brother Abel.
God may have told them not to killeach other, but that’s not recorded.
(05:49):
But God didn’t have tospell this out for them.
The creation itself taught them.
Paul shows in Romans 1 and 2that the creation itself teaches
us that some things are wrong.
Even if a man doesn't have a written lawof God, he can still know that things
like murder and idolatry are wrong.
(06:10):
But Genesis 9 verse 6 is the firstrecorded place where God gives
the death penalty for murder.
The old world is gone.
The flood wiped the slate clean.
And the first thing God warnsabout is the crime of murder.
God is talking to Noah.
But Noah was not a murderer.
(06:31):
His wife, his sons and theirwives were not killers.
So it's obvious that God is notjust talking to Noah and his family
about the death penalty for murder.
The Lord is giving this warningfor Noah's generation and
every generation that followed.
Notice again what Genesis 9 versesix says: “Whoever sheds man's blood,
(06:52):
by man his blood shall be shed.”The death sentence is to be carried
out “by man.” Other men are to takethe murderer and put him to death.
This is not vigilante justice.
It’s not a mob execution.
God is giving MEN the authority totake that man and put him to death.
(07:15):
God in these words istalking about government.
The Lord put governmenthere to keep law and order.
He ordained civil governmentto reward good law-abiding
citizens and to punish criminals.
Sometimes they don’t dotheir job like they should.
But we’re talking about what theyhave the responsibility to do.
(07:36):
So as the world and mankind get a freshstart in Genesis 9 after the flood, God
lays the foundation for civl government.
The Lord says other menwill do the executing.
God could have taken careof murderers Himself.
He could have just struckevery killer down the first
time he took someone’s life.
(07:56):
Sometimes God did strikepeople dead in the Bible.
He had just wiped out the humanrace except for Noah and his family.
But God decreed that MEN shouldtake the killer, by force if
necessary, and put him to death.
That doesn’t mean those men whoexecute him are perfect men.
Sometimes we hear people say,“Capital punishment is wrong.
(08:19):
The Jews asked Jesus if it wasright to stone the woman who
was caught committing adultery.
But Jesus said, ‘He who is withoutsin among you, let him throw
a stone at her first.’” Jesusdid say that in John 8 verse 7.
And, many people think He’s saying thatwe’re all sinners and no one has the
(08:41):
right to judge anybody, and certainlynot to condemn a person to death.
But that is not what Jesus means.
This is one of the most misquotedand misapplied verses in the Bible.
The law of Moses gave the death penalty.
There is no question about that.
But that law didn’t say that onlySINLESS people could do the stoning!
(09:02):
That would have been impossible.
God knew full well when he gave humanbeings the authority to use the death
penalty that those same men were sinners.
But here’s the difference.
The Jews who threw those stones under theold law may have been guilty of gossip
or envy, but that didn’t put them inthe same category as a capital crime.
(09:24):
But if, let’s say for instance,some of them were guilty of murder
just like the man they were stoningfor murder, they would have no
right to throw a stone at him.
They ought to have been put in there withthe murderer and be put to death like him.
That’s what Jesus is talking about.
He’s not saying “He that is withoutsin of ANY KIND, let him throw a stone
(09:48):
at her first.” He’s saying “He thatis without the same sin this woman has
committed—the sin of adultery—let himthrow the first stone at her.” But none
of the Jewish men in John 8 would do that.
They were hypocrites, but atleast they had enough conscience
left to feel too ashamed to goany further with their fiasco.
(10:09):
And it was rotten from the start.
The law of Moses did give thedeath penalty for adultery.
But, it said the adulterer ANDthe adulteress were to be put to
death [Leviticus 20, verse 13].
The Jews in John 8 said they caughtthis woman in the very act of adultery.
So where was the man?
(10:32):
If they were so concernedabout keeping the law, why
didn’t’t they bring the man too?
Because they were guilty of the same sin.
That’s why the Bible says after Jesussaid those words about throwing the first
stone, “Then those who heard it, beingconvicted by their conscience, went out
one by one, beginning with the oldesteven to the last” [John 8, verse 9].
(10:57):
They were all guilty of the same thing,and a people guilty of the same sin as
the person accused have no right to judge.
They are condemned themselves.
So when Jesus said, “He who is withoutsin” in John 8 verse 7, He’s talking about
the sin of adultery, not sin in general.
So this is not a verseagainst capital punishment.
(11:20):
Let’s look again at what God said inGenesis 9, verse 6: “Whoever sheds man's
blood, by man his blood shall be shed;For in the image of God He made man.” God
said this in the first book of the Bibleand He never changed His mind about it.
Murderers deserve to die.
(11:40):
They are worthy of death because theyhave taken the life of a fellow human
being who is made in the image of God.
God taught this here in Genesis9 in the Patriarchal age and He
taught it later in the law of Moses.
In Deuteronomy 21 verse 22, the Biblesays, “If a man has committed a sin
(12:01):
deserving of death, and he is put todeath, and you hang him on a tree…”
The Jews who were under that law couldknow the difference between a sin that
deserved death and a sin that didn’t.
The law of Moses said that the punishmentfor some sins was paying a fine.
For instance, if a Jew stole a sheep andsold it, he was to pay back four sheep.
(12:26):
If he stole an ox and sold it, he was topay back five oxen [Exodus 22, verse 1].
They were other crimes under thelaw Moses that deserved a beating
[Deuteronomy 25, verses 1 through 3].
But they were sins that were so heinousthat God gave the death penalty for them.
(12:46):
That's why the Bible saysanyone who committed them was
worthy or deserving of death.
There were many sins other thanmurder that were punishable by death
under the law of Moses—strikingone’s parents, kidnapping people and
selling them as slaves, homosexuality,adultery, bestiality and others.
(13:07):
But the sin of murder is consistentlyshown in the Old Testament to be
deserving of the death penalty.
Numbers 35 verse 31 says, “Moreoveryou shall take no ransom for the
life of a murderer who is guiltyof death, but he shall surely be
put to death.” God said they wereto accept no ransom for this man.
(13:28):
In other words, if he or his friends orfamily said, “We will pay you any amount
of money if you’ll let him live,” thosein charge were not to take the money.
And, the law of Moses taught thatthere was a difference between
killing someone accidentally andwhat we call cold-blooded murder.
(13:49):
Deuteronomy chapter 19 talks about a manwho is swinging his axe to chop wood,
and the axe head slips off and hits theman with him in the head and he dies.
That was an accident and the lawdidn’t say to put him to death.
It also made a distinctionbetween death caused by a
fight and premeditated killing.
(14:10):
Exodus 21 verses 12 through 14 says,“He who strikes a man so that he
dies shall surely be put to death.
However, if he did not lie inwait, but God delivered him into
his hand, then I will appoint foryou a place where he may flee.
"But if a man acts with premeditationagainst his neighbor, to kill him by
(14:33):
treachery, you shall take him awayfrom My altar, that he may die.” It
is a tragic thing to cause the deathof anyone, but it is more serious
to plan it and do it intentionally.
That kind of killing deserves thedeath penalty without any question.
This is why it's ridiculousfor people to say the Bible
(14:54):
contradicts itself on this point.
Some people tell us that the verses werelooking at contradict Exodus 20 verse
13 where the Bible says “Thou shalt notkill” in the King James Version and “You
shall not murder” in the New King James.
This is an absurd argument.
Obviously, taking human life is wrongin some situations and right in others.
(15:17):
Exodus 20 verse 13 is talking aboutdeliberate killing of innocent people.
Genesis 9 verse 6 is about executingmurderers for that very thing.
God gave us life and Godhas the right to take life.
He also has the right to say whena human being deserves to die.
And, He has the right toauthorize human governments to
(15:41):
carry out the death penalty.
So think about what we’ve seen so far.
The death penalty was given by God in thePatriarchal age before the law of Moses.
Then it was given in the law of Moses.
In fact, there is more in the Bibleabout the death penalty in that part of
the Old Testament than anywhere else.
But what about the New Testament?
(16:03):
Is capital punishment allowed byGod in this, the Christian age?
There is no passage clearer aboutthis than Romans chapter 13.
Here is what the Bible says inRomans 13 verses 1 through 4.
Verse
1 says, “Let every soul be subjectto the governing authorities. For
(16:24):
there is no authority except fromGod, and the authorities that
exist are appointed by God.” Theinstitution of government is from God.
God is the One who has authority.
He delegates authorityto human governments.
That doesn’t mean that He talks to them.
It means that governmentsare like parents.
(16:46):
God gives authority tomothers and fathers.
They have a right to telltheir children what to do.
Ephesians 6 verse 1 says,“Children, obey your parents in
the Lord, for this is right.”Sometimes parents abuse that power.
They abuse their children.
They neglect their sons and daughters.
But that doesn’t change the fact that Godput a structure of authority in the home.
(17:10):
The same thing is true with governments.
It’s true that humangovernments abuse their power.
They don’t respect goodcitizens like they should.
They favor people with money.
They aren’t as just andfair as they should be.
But most governments won’ttolerate stealing and killing.
If they did, their society would collapse.
(17:31):
So they must use force at times.
Every government must deal with criminals.
That sometimes means putting criminalsto death either when police are trying
to capture violent offenders or whena prisoner on death row is executed.
When a government uses the death penaltyfor crimes deserving of death like murder,
(17:53):
they’re not acting on their own authority.
They are acting asauthorized agents of God.
Paul says in verse 2, “Thereforewhoever resists the authority resists
the ordinance of God, and thosewho resist will bring judgment on
themselves.” The King James sayspeople that resist the government
(18:15):
will receive damnation. That doesn’tmean damnation in hell in this verse.
It means the condemnationof the government.
Governments don’t tolerate rebellion well.
Paul is telling the Christians at Rometo obey and submit to the government.
And what government were theysubmitting to at that time?
(18:35):
The Roman government!
What kind of government was that?
It was a pagan empire.
The Caesars were very corrupt.
It was not a model of virtue.
And yet Paul told theChristians to submit.
Of course, the implied backdrop tothis is that Christians are to obey
the law of the land as long as that lawdoesn’t conflict with the law of God.
(19:00):
If it does, then Christians areto obey God’s law, not man’s.
When the Jewish high court told theapostles not to preach the gospel
in Jerusalem, Peter and the otherapostles said, “We ought to obey God
rather than men” [Acts 5, verse 29].
But that was and is theexception and not the rule.
(19:22):
Peter himself said the general rule isthis: “Therefore submit yourselves to
every ordinance of man for the Lord'ssake, whether to the king as supreme, or
to governors, as to those who are sentby him for the punishment of evildoers
and for the praise of those who dogood” [I Peter 2, verses 13 and 14].
(19:45):
Peter said to obey the law asfar as you can as Christians.
And notice that he says the officersthese government leaders send to enforce
the law are to do two things (19:54):
punish evildoers and praise the citizens that
do good, that is, that obey the law.
Paul warns Christians notto rebel or you’ll end up
getting the edge of the sword.
He explains this in verses 3 and 4 (20:08):
“For rulers are not a terror to good works,
but to evil.” Again, he’s stating theintended purpose of government. It’s
true that governments sometimes terrifythe good people instead of the bad ones.
But generally speaking they don’ttolerate people killing each other.
(20:29):
So Paul says that governmenthas authority from God.
He warns us not to resist their authority.
So, do you want to live your lifewithout being afraid of the authorities?
The sensible answer is yes.
Then, Paul says, here is what youneed to do so that you won’t have
to be afraid of them (20:48):
“Do you want to be unafraid of the authority?
Do what is good, and you willhave praise from the same.
For he is God's minister to you for good.
But if you do evil, be afraid; for hedoes not bear the sword in vain; for
he is God's minister, an avenger toexecute wrath on him who practices evil.”
(21:14):
Here is plain proof that the NewTestament authorizes the death penalty.
The government bears the swordand does not bear it in vain.
Roman soldiers didn’t carry a swordat their side just to look official.
They were armed with swordsin case they had to use them.
And what are swords made for?
They are not made to beat people with.
(21:35):
Clubs and sticks are for that.
Those swords were not like whips.
The Jews had whips and the Romans hadscourges, but swords were made to kill.
The sword of the government representsthe power of the government to take
life, and that power comes from God.
The sword the implies theuse of a policeman’s gun.
(21:57):
It includes the military.
God authorizes governments to usedeadly force to protect themselves from
enemies without and criminals within.
In either case, they are using the sword.
If they misuse it, then theywill answer to God Almighty.
But even then, that abuse doesnot negate what Paul is saying
(22:18):
here in Romans chapter 13.
Paul knew what it was liketo be threatened with death.
In Acts chapter 25 he appearedbefore the Roman ruler Festus.
When Festus asked him if he would bewilling to go back to Jerusalem to be
judged by the Jews, he said, “For if I aman offender, or have committed anything
(22:40):
deserving of death, I do not objectto dying; but if there is nothing in
these things of which these men accuseme, no one can deliver me to them.
I appeal to Caesar.” Paul didn’t say hehad done anything deserving of death.
He said IF he had done any such thing,then he would be willing to die.
(23:01):
Paul admitted that the deathpenalty is right when it applies
to people who deserve it.
Still, many people objectto capital punishment.
That includes nonbelievers andsome who identify as Christians.
One of the most common objectionsto the death penalty is this:
“What purpose does it serve?
If you kill the killer, you’re sendingthe message that it was wrong for him to
(23:24):
kill, but it’s okay for us to kill him.
And what good does it doto put a criminal to death?
It sure can’t help him.
He’s dead.
As a matter of fact, takinghis life means taking away any
chance he has to reform his life.
Not only that, but puttinghim to death won’t prevent
others like him from killing.
(23:45):
They’re going to do it anyway.”
That is what we’re hearing.
Now let’s respond.
First of all, punishing a killer isnot about doing what’s best for him.
It’s not about rehabilitating him.
It’s not about giving him another chance.
What about the person he killed?
That person will never haveanother chance at life.
(24:08):
But modern psychology and penaltheory are hung up on this point.
They don’t see the deeper issue.
The purpose of capital punishmentis not to reform the killer.
It is not even primarily to keepothers from committing this crime.
The purpose of the deathpenalty is justice.
It is retribution.
(24:29):
This is what God has been saying inthe Bible for thousands of years!
That’s what He means when He talksabout sins that are deserving of death!
But, for the sake of argument,let's think about the objection
that capital punishment doesnot deter or prevent crime.
Here's an important verse.
It's found in Ecclesiasteschapter 8 verse 11.
(24:53):
“Because the sentence against an evilwork is not executed speedily, therefore
the heart of the sons of men is fully setin them to do evil.” The word “sentence”
means a penalty or a type of punishment.
What happens with thatpenalty is not given?
What happens when people whodo wrong are not punished?
(25:15):
According to the so-called expertsin psychology and legal theory, there
is little if any correlation betweenpunishment for crime and the effect it
has on others who might commit that crime.
Well, that’s human wisdom talking.
What does God say?
This verse written about 3000 yearsago is the wisdom of God speaking.
(25:36):
And not only that, it's confirmedby thousands of years of
experience and common sense.
This verse says that when crime goesunpunished, there will be more crime.
The problem will get worse.
Criminals will be more bold anddaring if they think nothing will
happen to them if they get caught.
(25:56):
This is exactly what we'reseeing all around us.
We live in a generation wherepeople think there are no
consequences to their decisions.
That's true in general.
And it's tragically true in regard tocrime, especially the crime of murder.
Solomon says when you don't punishevil, “the heart of the sons of men
(26:18):
"will be "fully set in them to doevil." They will not simply do evil.
Their minds will be full of evil, andthey will do it as much as they can.
When there is no law and order, societywill be lawless and more dangerous.
On the other hand, when criminalsare brought to justice and made
to pay for their crimes, this doesput a check on others who might
(26:42):
be prone to commit those crimes.
Of course there will be exceptions.
The death penalty won’t put an endto all killing of innocent people.
This is not a blanket, universal promise.
It’s a principle.
It means that, generallyspeaking, this kind of punishment
does keep a check on crime.
And there's a very important wordin Ecclesiastes chapter 8 verse 11.
(27:05):
He says that the punishment must beadministered speedily or swiftly.
That's one reason why evencapital punishment today doesn’t
have the effect it used to.
By the time we get around to executingcold-blooded killers, it’s been
twenty or thirty years, and peoplehave either forgotten about what
he did or they don’t even know.
(27:26):
In the early days of this country,justice was handed out quickly.
There were no pointless,long, drawn-out legal battles.
The sentence was, as Solomonsaid, carried out swiftly.
And, it had a powerful effect.
The lesson from this verse is clear (27:42):
if you want to keep the crime rate down,
punish criminals and do it quickly.
Here's another objection.
Opponents of capital punishmentcomplain that it is cruel and barbaric.
Why don't they talk about what thesevicious killers did to their victims?
What about the raping, the torturing,and the stabbing and strangling of
(28:05):
innocent men, women and children?
What about taking a gun into a school orchurch and shooting complete strangers?
Why don’t these anti-deathpenalty groups spend more time
talking about the real victims?
A criminal who is honest withhimself, will admit that he's
getting what he deserves.
(28:25):
Do you remember the thief on thecross who regretted what he had done?
He didn't blame society.
He didn't look for excuses.
He admitted that he deserved to die.
The Bible says in Luke 23, “Then one ofthe criminals who were hanged blasphemed
Him, saying, ‘If You are the Christ,save Yourself and us.’ But the other,
(28:46):
answering, rebuked him, saying, ‘Do younot even fear God, seeing you are under
the same condemnation? And we indeedjustly, for we receive the due reward of
our deeds; but this Man has done nothingwrong’” [Luke 23, verses 39 through
41]. He said we’regetting what we deserve!
(29:08):
Does this mean that killing aninnocent person is an unpardonable sin?
No.
David had a man killed so that he couldhave his wife, but God forgave him.
God also commuted thesentence of death in his case.
But God doesn’t speak directlyfrom heaven today like He did then.
And, God didn’t do away with the deathpenalty when he pardoned David—in a
(29:30):
legal, as well as a spiritual, sense.
His case was an exception.
And if you think it wasn’t fair forGod to pardon him and not others,
remember that David paid for whathe did for the rest of his life.
And remember that what God saidin Ecclesiastes 8 verse 11 about
punishing crime quickly waswritten after the story of David.
(29:52):
Human governments todaymake exceptions to the law.
Sometimes they’re not fair.
But that doesn’t change theprinciple that taking human
life is a sin worthy of death.
The point is that a man can be forgivenof murder just like any other sin,
but there are earthly consequences.
Moses sinned when he didn’t giveGod the glory when he brought
(30:14):
water out of the rock the secondtime, and God punished him.
He wouldn’t let Moses go into thepromised land because of what he did
before the congregation of Israel.
God forgave Moses.
We know that because Hebrew 11says that Moses is in glory.
But he had to pay anearthly price for his sin.
And, even when Moses asked God tolessen the sentence, God said no.
There’s an old saying (30:39):
“crime pays.” And on the human side of that, we had better
do what we can to make sure it does.
Thank you for listeningto My God and My Neighbor.
Stay connected with our podcast onour website and on Apple, Spotify,
YouTube, or wherever finepodcasts are distributed.
(31:00):
Tennessee Bible College, providingChristian education since 1975
in Cookeville, Tennessee, offersundergraduate and graduate programs.
Study at your level.
Aim higher and get in touch with us today.
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