Many people are sentenced to death and then killed every year. Many people support this. I do not. Here are my reasons.
Okay, let's get this straight: We've all sinned. Romans 3:23 says,
". . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory ofEvery human in the past, present and future has, when given the chance, sinned and will sin. Man is not perfect. Christ was the only perfect Man. He is the only Man that did not sin. Let's investigate sin further:God. . . ."
"For the wages of sin is death. . . ." (Romans 6:23a)Therefore, since we've all sinned, we are all deserving of death. You, whoever you are who's reading this, you have sinned, and you are worthy of death. I have sinned and I am worthy of death. All sin is equal in God's eyes. You don't find the Bible talking about big sins and little sins (save the unpardonable sin, which is different). Sin is, simply stated, lawlessness (1 John 3:4).
What that means is that the lie you told yesterday is on the same level as Timothy McVeigh going and blowing up 168 people in the Murray Building in Oklahoma City. That cuss word you said five minutes ago is just as bad as if you ran a plane into the World Trade Center. Yeah, McVeigh and the terrorists were worthy of death, and so are you.
So let's say you're in a jury, and the guy being tried has just been convicted of murder in the first degree. You now move into the sentencing phase. That man killed somebody—he is worthy of death.
"So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, 'He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.'" (John 8:7)Chilling words, eh? You have no right to sentence a man to death. That's going beyond jury, that's taking God's place as judge—you are deciding whether a man lives or dies. You have no right to sentence him to death because you and I deserve the same fate. If you were there with Jesus on that day, you couldn't throw the stone. And neither can you throw it now.
If you're not getting this yet, read chapter 8 of 1 Corinthians. It's a short one. Paul would not eat meat if it offended someone and made him stumble. He would not do something that would make another sin. Isn't it a sin to kill? What's that guy who injects the poison into the murderer's bloodstream doing? Killing him. So we're sinning by making another sin.
Still not convinced? What was it that Jesus said on the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:44? Love your enemies. I agree, anyone who murders is my enemy. But I still love a murderer, and I don't kill people I love. When I go visit my grandma, I don't bring my shotgun with me, because I love her.
Some have used Romans 13:4 to justify capital punishment. It says,
"For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil."This verse offers no support whatsoever for capital punishment. That "bear the sword" thing? It's a figure of speech. It doesn't mean decapitation. Besides, if you stole back then, they'd cut your hand off—possibly with a sword. And "execute wrath"? You can be wrathful without being murderous. In fact, sometimes life is worse than death. The government has the right to take away your freedom and imprison you, not kill you.
Additionally, many fail to see the verses preceding these. Romans 12:19 says,
"Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord."It is not up to us to avenge death. That's God's job. Murderers will get their punishment in the end.
Well, I hope that gets you thinking. There are many problems in this world, and people killing people is one of them. Why do we continue the killing cycle? Why must we be the last ones to have blood on our hands? Jesus wants us all to be nice to each other and show love, and killing people is not getting that done. It does the opposite. Consider that.
