Taking the Law into One's Hands and Casting the First Stone
There's the new trend called vigilante killings. It would be good to speak against the political correctness and foolishness of international groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch but it's also wrong to take the law into your hands. While John 8:7 doesn't condemn the death penalty but it also condemns taking the law into one's own hands. The problem wasn't the death penalty but that the Pharisees were actually taking the law into their hands.
There's a problem of quoting Exodus 20:13 to go against the death penalty while saying the death penalty is just in the Old Testament. Exodus 20:13 talks about murder. Death penalty is not state murder but defensive killing. The same Bible that condemns murder also commands the death penalty for murderers. Read through all of Exodus to Deuteronomy and find out that the same God who condemns murder also ordered the death penalty for murderers. Pope Francis or anyone has no right to condemn death penalty as murder when God commanded it. He also set rules and regulations of due process which would also put false witnesses to death for perjury that could have led to an innocent person's execution.
Romans 13:4 tells us that it's the government bears the sword. What's the sword's use? It's not for planting onions or vegetables but for self-defense. The sword is used to punish evildoers and the Bible commands the death penalty for severe cases. With that verse in mind, it's obvious that God is against the idea of taking the law into one's own hands because we're all sinners. Just think what if everyone were allowed to take the law into their own hands. This would mean chaos because innocent people will eventually get in harm's way. This is much different from shooting someone out of self-defense or to save a person in a life or death situation. Remember that while it's an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth but it's not a justification for revenge. Rather, the rule of eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth was given to limit punishments given by authorities according to offense.
The problem of vigilante killings is that they actually misuse and abuse the law. It's like how the Pharisees had no proper due process to the woman caught in adultery. The bigger question is where is the man in all of this? The Bible's law for adultery also demands that both the man and the woman were to be stoned for adultery once proven (Deuteronomy 22:22). The problem is not death penalty but a misuse of it. The Bible also requires civil courts and punishment of false witnesses. Banning death penalty because an innocent person got harmed by it is equivalent to banning fire because a village got burned, banning water because somebody drowned, banning air because somebody hyperventilated or banning kitchen knives because someone got murdered by one.
There's also the reality that ungodly people do have their days. While one has the right to own arms and Jesus commanded His disciples to own a sword for self-defense (Luke 22:35-37). You have every right to self-defense so never give in to unjust gun laws but don't misuse your deadly weapons either. Just use them in life or death situations. Besides, there's a day of reckoning for the wicked. There's a day of reckoning for wicked authorities. Remember, God has His timetable. Even if you're a victim right now of injustice... God is watching and He's just waiting for the right time to punish the crooks. Even if Naboth was framed but Ahab and Jezebel didn't get away with what they did. So don't take the law into your hands as vengeance as Deuteronomy 32:35 and Romans 12:9 says that vengeance is of God's.
There's a problem of quoting Exodus 20:13 to go against the death penalty while saying the death penalty is just in the Old Testament. Exodus 20:13 talks about murder. Death penalty is not state murder but defensive killing. The same Bible that condemns murder also commands the death penalty for murderers. Read through all of Exodus to Deuteronomy and find out that the same God who condemns murder also ordered the death penalty for murderers. Pope Francis or anyone has no right to condemn death penalty as murder when God commanded it. He also set rules and regulations of due process which would also put false witnesses to death for perjury that could have led to an innocent person's execution.
Romans 13:4 tells us that it's the government bears the sword. What's the sword's use? It's not for planting onions or vegetables but for self-defense. The sword is used to punish evildoers and the Bible commands the death penalty for severe cases. With that verse in mind, it's obvious that God is against the idea of taking the law into one's own hands because we're all sinners. Just think what if everyone were allowed to take the law into their own hands. This would mean chaos because innocent people will eventually get in harm's way. This is much different from shooting someone out of self-defense or to save a person in a life or death situation. Remember that while it's an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth but it's not a justification for revenge. Rather, the rule of eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth was given to limit punishments given by authorities according to offense.
The problem of vigilante killings is that they actually misuse and abuse the law. It's like how the Pharisees had no proper due process to the woman caught in adultery. The bigger question is where is the man in all of this? The Bible's law for adultery also demands that both the man and the woman were to be stoned for adultery once proven (Deuteronomy 22:22). The problem is not death penalty but a misuse of it. The Bible also requires civil courts and punishment of false witnesses. Banning death penalty because an innocent person got harmed by it is equivalent to banning fire because a village got burned, banning water because somebody drowned, banning air because somebody hyperventilated or banning kitchen knives because someone got murdered by one.
There's also the reality that ungodly people do have their days. While one has the right to own arms and Jesus commanded His disciples to own a sword for self-defense (Luke 22:35-37). You have every right to self-defense so never give in to unjust gun laws but don't misuse your deadly weapons either. Just use them in life or death situations. Besides, there's a day of reckoning for the wicked. There's a day of reckoning for wicked authorities. Remember, God has His timetable. Even if you're a victim right now of injustice... God is watching and He's just waiting for the right time to punish the crooks. Even if Naboth was framed but Ahab and Jezebel didn't get away with what they did. So don't take the law into your hands as vengeance as Deuteronomy 32:35 and Romans 12:9 says that vengeance is of God's.
See also:
- Defending the Doctrine and Tradition of Sola Scriptura
- It's Rejecting Sola Scriptura That Creates Several Pseudo-Christian Groups
- It's Sickening How People Can Sympathize with Criminals over the Victims of Crime
- Just Say No to Pulpit Pimps Because God Will Judge Such Evil Preachers!
- Know the Difference Between Death Penalty and Revenge
- Preachers Who Don't Use Their Bible as the Final Authority Are Like Sky Divers Not Using Their Parachutes as the Only Way to Land Safely!
- Pseudo-Christian Denominations Reject God's Word to Keep Their Own Traditions!
- Refuting the Ridiculous Claim That Sola Scriptura Condones to Certain Evils in Society
- Slaves in the Bible- Was it REALLY the Modern Day Concept of Slavery?
- Sola Parochus or Sola Scriptura?
- The Death Penalty is Biblical