Christians and the Death Penalty: Are We Hypocrites?

Lynn Holt, the senior partner in CBS' Monday night drama, Family Law, has been asked to fight for clemency on behalf of a young man who's been sentenced to death for killing high school students in a shooting rampage. The convicted murderer shows no remorse and relishes discussing the last desperate moments of his victims' short lives. Lynn believes his crimes are unforgivable but she doesn't believe he should be executed. She meets with her partners to announce the firm will take the case. They ask why. She responds:

"I was raised a Christian. I remember Jesus talking about forgiving your enemies and not judging others. I don't recall the part where he said we should gas people and inject them with poison. I could have just skimmed, but somehow I thought we were supposed to leave retribution to His Dad. So I get a little peeved when all the good Christians get together with the so-called liberal politicians I helped elect and suggest that we should butcher people. It makes me feel like one of us is a hypocrite."1

Her dialogue is met with guilty silence. Her partners, some of them self-described Christians, do not refute the implication that a Christian who believes in God's love for the unlovable while condoning the God-given right for a civil government to execute a guilty criminal, is a pious fraud.

I strongly disagree with Lynn's (mis)understanding of the scriptures. She probably did "just skim," for she has missed the whole point. While Jesus addressed the individual's attitude towards others, He never condemned capital punishment for the guilty--and He had ample opportunity. In fact, He willingly submitted to his own unjust execution. Later, the apostle Paul would say, "if I have committed a crime deserving of the death penalty then I will not fight it. But I have not and so I appeal to Caesar. (Acts 25: 11)" In Romans 13: 1-5, Paul states that government officials are ordained of God and empowered to execute the guilty:

"For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. (Romans 13:4)"

The prerogative of capital punishment was established in Genesis 9:6, developed in the Mosaic law and reaffirmed in the New Testament. God is a perfectly holy God who demands perfect justice. Every human being--past, present, and future--has been sentenced to eternal death. There is no clemency; the sentence must be served. For the believing Christian, the penalty has already been paid in full and we are free because of God's grace and sacrificial love.

Officially, the Catholic Church2 and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod3, as well as other major denominations, affirm that Christ did not abolish the death sentence. Capital punishment is an act carried out by civil government, not by private citizens. It is motivated not by malice or hatred, but by justice. Church members are not obligated to support capital punishment, but those who do are not in violation of the spirit of Christ's teachings.

Lynn, like so many believers and nonbelievers alike, is confused about Jesus' command to "Judge not lest ye be judged." The world appeals to that statement by saying that nobody ever has the right to say that anything they do is wrong. For a judge in a courtroom to declare an accused person guilty of a crime is not judgmental. For a Christian to recognize sinful behavior in another Christian or non-Christian as sinful is not judgmental. When Jesus was confronted with the adulterous woman, He didn't say she wasn't guilty. He did not endorse or encourage Her sin, but gently corrected her and told her to sin no more.

As for Lynn's statement that Jesus said we are to forgive our enemies, we must remember that forgiveness is always conditioned upon repentance. Judges do not grant clemancy to the guilty, but may show mercy to the truly repentant. God is not obligated to forgive the unrepentant sinner. What Jesus said was that we are required to love (which, by the way is an action, not a feeling) our enemies, as God has love us. Once an enemy seeks forgiveness, they are not longer our enemy.

A final note: the dialogue in the February 19, 2001 episode of Family Law is pure fiction. The character and storyline were created by Hollywood script writers for our entertainment. But that script reflects a grievous misrepresentation of the teachings of Christ. Although I agree with the state's right to implement capital punishment, my point is to defend the integrity of scripture. The Bible exhorts us to be mature in our understanding and if Christians are going to make an impact in our culture, we have to come to the depth of understanding that provides maturity for leadership.

1. Episode 46. Clemency.

2. Catholic Encyclopedia: Capital Punishment.

3. LCMS FAQ-Death Penalty.