What does the Bible say about the death penalty?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

God uniquely created men and women in His image (Genesis 1:26–27). Being in God’s image makes each of us inherently valuable, as we were created to represent God to the rest of creation. Even after we rebelled (e.g., Psalm 14:1–3), we were still God’s image bearers.

Based on that reality, God decreed that anyone who willfully killed someone must be put to death (Genesis 9:5–6; Exodus 21:12). Therefore, God instituted the death penalty as the just action to take against murderers. Note that the Bible distinguishes between murder and manslaughter, with only murder necessitating the death penalty (Deuteronomy 19:4–5). Later in the Mosaic Law, other heinous sins also required the death penalty, including adultery (Leviticus 20:10) and rape (Deuteronomy 22:25). However, unlike the general death penalty given to all humanity for murder, those laws were specific to ancient Israel’s unique role as displaying God’s holiness to the nations.

Even those laws were inconsistently enforced (i.e., 2 Samuel 11), supporting the idea that the death penalty is only universally applicable to murder. However, given God’s severe treatment of sins that dehumanize others, some may argue that the logical implication is the death penalty for such dehumanizing acts today.

Today, capital punishment is a contentious issue because of a misunderstanding of human nature. Instead of viewing people as inherently evil, they are viewed as good, albeit influenced toward bad behavior by external factors. However, God gave the death penalty to restrain evil hearts by the fear of punishment so victims would be honored through justice.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• When God created men and women, we read, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness ….’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26–27). Being created in God’s likeness means that we are distinct from the rest of creation, having within us the imprint of God. That does not mean we are divine but rather that we were created to display His attributes, such as justice and holiness, to the rest of creation.
• After we rebelled against our Creator and He cursed us with death (Genesis 3), we all became corrupted (Psalm 14:1–3), evil at heart (Jeremiah 17:9). However, despite that, we are still in God’s image.
• After humanity’s original sin, the earth was filled with violence such that God decided to destroy all of humanity except for Noah and his family (Genesis 6:1–8). After destroying mankind, God instituted the death penalty, saying, “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning…From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. ‘Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image’” (Genesis 9:5–6; cf. Exodus 21:12).
• Because men and women represent God, they are highly valuable. Anyone who intentionally takes the life of another image bearer is, therefore, to be put to death. However, the Bible distinguishes between intentional murder and accidental manslaughter. For example, regarding manslaughter, we read, “This is the provision for the manslayer, who by fleeing there may save his life. If anyone kills his neighbor unintentionally without having hated him in the past—as when someone goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down a tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities [of refuge] and live” (Deuteronomy 19:4–5).
• In biblical times, a “city of refuge” was a place where someone who had killed someone else could flee to for safety until a judicial determination could be made as to one’s intent. If, as in the previous example, the death was purely accidental, the individual would not be put to death. But, if it was determined to be intentional, then he or she was to be put to death. This demonstrates not only that there is a distinction between murder and manslaughter, but the necessity of a judicial process of determining guilt before one is put to death.
• In Genesis 9, God provided a universal command for the death penalty to all of humanity. Therefore, that command applies today. Later, in the Mosaic Law, God also commanded the death penalty for other acts. Some acts dehumanized others, such as adultery (Leviticus 20:10) and rape (Deuteronomy 22:25), while others directly attacked God, such as blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16).
• Many would argue that such laws do not apply today because, unlike the universal death penalty, those other commands were given specifically to ancient Israel, which had a special role in displaying God’s holiness to the nations (e.g., Exodus 19:5–6). However, some do make an argument that those laws show that any heinous, dehumanizing act is an attack on image bearers and thus may warrant the death penalty today. However, that position is not universally accepted, and caution must be exercised because of the difference between Israel’s relationship with God and humanity’s relationship in general.
• An argument against enforcing the death penalty in those other cases today is that even in ancient Israel’s days, they were inconsistently maintained. An example of that is King David’s affair with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11). However, instead of killing him, God forgave him because he was repentant (though he did harshly punish David by killing the son he conceived with Bathsheba). That indicates that there was an inherent understanding even in ancient Israel of the distinct difference in damage between murder and adultery.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• The New Testament does not provide additional information on the death penalty. Because of that, it does not overturn it, particularly in the case of the penalty for murder. Indeed, Paul taught that God gives governments authority specifically to wield the sword (Romans 13:4), indicating that this authority extends even to the infliction of capital punishment.
• Though capital crimes are serious sins, they are not unforgivable. A major example of this is the man being put to death on a cross near Jesus. He clearly understood his guilt and expressed faith in Jesus. Of that account, we read, “But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’ And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise’” (Luke 23:40–43).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

Perhaps one of the most contentious issues of our time is one that went unquestioned throughout most of history: capital punishment. The reason it went unquestioned for so long is that, intrinsically, we know that certain crimes are so heinous, so calculated, and so undeniably evil that they warrant the severest punishment God has authorized against a fellow human.

This world is imperfect, and true and final justice will only come from the hand of God, either through eternal punishment in hell or by the wrath the Father poured out on Jesus, the sacrifice for repentant sinners. However, that said, God has authorized governments to be the means through which His justice is carried out in this life (Romans 13). He has done that not only so that sin will be punished, but also so that victims and their families will receive some justice, and so that future sin will be prevented by restraining would-be perpetrators with fear of punishment.

In our society today, we have forgotten that men and women are inherently evil because of our rebellion against God. Psychology and other corrosive forces have led us to believe that people are actually generally good at heart and that evil results from bad, external influences. When viewed that way, capital punishment feels like yet another evil happening against good, however misguided, persons.

However, when we remember that God views us all as evil at heart (Psalm 14:1–3; Jeremiah 17:9), we will stop seeing capital punishment as evil and, when carried out carefully and judiciously, as a good gift from God that allows us to limit evil in this world.

UNDERSTAND

• The death penalty for murder is rooted in humanity's unique value as God's image bearers.
• The death penalty in the Bible is reserved specifically for deliberate killing as established through a judicial process.
• While the death penalty for murder is universally applicable, the Mosaic Law's extension of it to other sins (such as adultery and rape) was specific to ancient Israel's unique role and is not binding today.

REFLECT

• How does understanding humanity's value as image bearers of God define the way you think about both the seriousness of murder and the value of every human life?
• In what ways does the reality that even murderers can receive God's forgiveness through Christ challenge your assumptions about who is beyond God's reach?
• How does knowing that governing authorities are responsible to uphold justice shape the way you think about justice and mercy in society?

ENGAGE

• How should we see the death penalty in light of both the biblical foundation for it and the reality of an imperfect judicial system?
• What does the careful distinction between murder and manslaughter reveal about God's concern for both justice and due process in determining guilt?
• How do we hold together the consequences of sin and the gospel's offer of forgiveness to even the worst of sinners?