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Romans chapter 12. This morning 
we looked at the topic or the subject of abortion. Today is 
Sanctity of Life Sunday. I thought we would look at capital 
punishment this evening. Now I realize many would think 
that is inconsistent to affirm capital punishment while all 
the while promoting life. But I believe that God has instituted 
capital punishment, and it serves as an argument or an illustration 
for just how much He does, in fact, value life. I don't believe 
these are inconsistent positions, and I hope and trust that God, 
by His Spirit, will instruct us from His Word, specifically 
Romans 13 this evening and Genesis 9. But I'll just pick up reading 
in Romans 12, beginning in verse 17. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in 
the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as 
depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not 
avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath. For it is 
written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Therefore, 
if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him 
a drink. For in so doing you will heap 
coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but 
overcome evil with good. Let every soul be subject to 
the governing authorities, for there is no authority except 
from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the 
authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist 
will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to 
good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of 
the authority? Do what is good, and you will 
have praise from the same. 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 and 
avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore, 
you must be subject, not only because of wrath, but also for 
conscience' sake. For because of this you also 
pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually 
to this very thing. Render, therefore, to all their 
due, taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, 
fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, we thank You for the 
written Word. We thank You that You spoke through the prophets 
and through the apostles. And in the last days, You spoke 
to us through Your Son. I pray that You would grant us 
ears to hear. God, I pray that we would receive 
Your Word with joy, with thanksgiving. And as well, Father, we would 
use that Word to contend earnestly for the faith which was once 
for all delivered to the saints. We know, Lord God, Life is held 
in great disregard in our own nation. We just pray, God in 
heaven, that you would revive your people, that you would cause 
us to think biblically, cause us to think your thoughts after 
you. Paul says we have the mind of Christ. It is our duty, our 
responsibility to fill up on the word of truth. We as well 
pray, God, for awakening in the land. We pray that a great multitude 
would turn from their idols and turn from their sins and embrace 
the true and living God through Jesus Christ the Lord. We pray, 
Father, for that day when abortion will be criminalized, when it 
will be unthinkable. And we pray, Father, that You 
would do this for Your glory's sake and for Your honor and for 
Your praise. And we ask through Christ our 
Lord. Amen. Well, as we consider this topic 
or this doctrine of capital punishment tonight, Basically, I want to 
do two things. First, is set forth a biblical 
theology of capital punishment. That means you start in Genesis 
and run through the scriptures and see what the Bible says concerning 
this most important doctrine. And then secondly, I want to 
take up some common objections to the doctrine of capital punishment. We'll look at biblical objections 
and then some pragmatic objections, and then we'll conclude with 
some final thoughts. But first, remember that in the 
Bible there are three ways for punishing criminals. That is, 
there are three methods that the magistrate, the government, 
is to use when it comes to civil punishments. The first is restitution 
or compensation. If I steal from you, God says 
I'm not to go to prison so that I can pay my debt to society, 
but rather God says I am to pay you back. If I take from you, 
I must give back to you. Secondly, there is corporal punishment. That means a punishment that 
is not capital, it is not lethal, but however, it is a physical 
punishment, hopefully to deter the criminal from engaging in 
such activity again. And then thirdly, and of course, 
capital punishment. By capital punishment, I mean 
that the government, the civil magistrate, has the right and 
the prerogative and has been equipped by God for carrying 
out execution on those who have been lawfully tried. They have 
gone through the process. The Bible includes very stringent 
procedures with reference to capital offenses. But having 
gone through that, God has given the sword to the civil magistrate 
so that he may inflict death upon a criminal offender. The 
sword, as John Murray said, which the magistrate carries is the 
most significant part. I'm sorry, he says the sword 
which the magistrate carries as the most significant part 
of his equipment is not merely the sign of his authority, but 
of his right to wield it in the infliction of that which a sword 
does. It can be wielded to execute 
punishment that falls short of death. but to exclude the right 
of the death penalty when the nature of the crime calls for 
such is totally contrary to that which the sword signifies and 
executes." I think that is an appropriate comment there on 
Romans 13 and the sword. But let's first start in Genesis. 
You may turn to Genesis chapter 9. Genesis chapter 9, as we sketch 
briefly, a biblical theology of capital punishment. Genesis 
chapter 9, you remember the context. It is after the flood. It is 
after Noah and his family have come out of the ark, and God 
has given them instructions with reference to life in this new 
world. He speaks of the propagation 
of life in chapter 9, verses 1 and seven, they were to be 
fruitful and to multiply. He speaks of the protection of 
life in verses two and four and six, and he speaks of the sustenance 
of life. In other words, you are able 
to eat these animals in order to live. So that's the framework. That's what he's dealing with. 
And it's in the context here that we find this statement in 
Genesis 9, 6. It says, whoever sheds man's 
blood, by man his blood will be shed. For in the image of 
God, he made man. The first thing we need to observe 
here is the offense. It is the crime of murder. whoever 
sheds man's blood. He is dealing specifically with 
murder. Later on in the Mosaic economy, 
there is a distinction made between murder and manslaughter. There 
are instances when we may unwittingly and unhappily, of course, kill 
somebody, we may run somebody over with our car, but if we 
didn't plan it, if we didn't predetermine it, if we didn't 
have malice aforethought, we will not be tried or convicted 
of murder, but rather it'll be homicide. Could be negligent 
homicide, but it is accidental, it is manslaughter rather than 
the act of murder. But in this context, what we're 
dealing with is murder. That is the offense. Notice the 
punishment that is in view. Whoever sheds man's blood, by 
man his blood shall be shed. We saw that this morning in Exodus 
21, 22 to 25. The Lex Talionis, the law of 
retribution. An eye for an eye, a tooth for 
a tooth, a life for a life. In this particular command, having 
come out of the ark as they seek to regulate life in God's world, 
God calls upon them to institute this particular law, that if 
there is a murderer, then that murderer sacrifices or rather 
gives his life in the commission of this particular crime. Notice 
thirdly, the agent that is involved. Whoever sheds man's blood, by 
man his blood will be shed. He is not saying God will take 
care of it. He is saying that there is man 
to take care of it. This is the magistrate. This 
is the civil government. They alone have a monopoly on 
this. We are not to be individual vigilantes. We're not to go buy guns and 
ammo and gun down every offender of God's law or of the law of 
the land. It is a monopoly of vengeance 
entrusted to the state itself and solely to the state. We cannot 
condone unlawful persons acting on their own, contrary to the 
will and mind of God, who go out and take matters into their 
own hand. That is simply unacceptable. But God has instituted the civil 
government. He says, by man his blood shall 
be shed. Martin Luther comments here, 
he says, this was the first command having reference to the temporal 
sword. By these words, temporal government 
was established and the sword placed in its hand by God. It is God's law. It is God's 
institution. It is God's economy. Gordon Clark 
states, God gave the right of capital punishment to human governments. He intended it to be used wisely 
and justly, but he intended it to be used. Abolition, that means 
getting rid of the death penalty, presupposes the falsity of Christian 
principles. So if we advocate the riddance 
of the death penalty, that presupposes the falsity of Christianity itself. God instituted this in a very 
unique way with Noah post-flood for the regulation of society. We've seen the offense, we've 
seen the punishment, we've seen the agent. Now notice, fourthly 
and finally, the theological reason. He says, whoever sheds 
man's blood, by man his blood will be shed. Why? For in the 
image of God he made man. Now some relate this to the fact 
that man executes the criminal offender. In other words, he 
is an image bearer of God and therefore stands as God's vice 
regent and therefore can carry out capital punishment. I take 
the view which says that God demands that men are executed 
for slaying innocent life because man bears the image of God Most 
High. I referenced Gerhardus Voss this 
morning. Here's the quote. He says, in 
life slain, it is the image of God, i.e., the divine majesty 
that is assaulted. So this is the undergirding reason. Notice, it's not because society 
thinks that this is best. It's not because there was a 
referendum and all of the family of Noah and all the people agreed 
that, yeah, we really ought to institute this. No, the death 
penalty or capital punishment is undergirded theologically. Whoever sheds man's blood, by 
man his blood will be shed. Why? For in the image of God, 
he made man. so that when you take the life 
of a judicially innocent person, you are assaulting God Himself. God will not have that. God institutes 
the death penalty, and nations who forsake that are raising 
their fists in opposition to the God of Holy Scripture. That's 
Genesis chapter 9. We see, as I said, some interesting 
additions in the Mosaic economy. the covenant made by God with 
Israel through Moses. There is a distinction made concerning 
accidental homicide and murder, so that whoever sheds man's blood. Again, now if I run somebody 
over accidentally in my car, and I'm not advocating that we 
do that by any stretch of the imagination, but that's a lot 
different than if I willfully and calculatedly know that of 
a truth there's going to be this guy on the street and I veer 
out of my way, I go out of my way with malice aforethought 
to run the man over so that I can take his life. There's a difference 
between accidental homicide and murder. The scripture makes the 
distinction with reference to a man handling an axe. He's chopping 
wood. If the axe head flies off and 
hits his neighbor accidentally and it buries itself in his head 
and he dies, well, the man swinging the axe didn't murder him. He 
didn't do this with malice of forethought. He didn't pre-plan 
it or pre-meditate it, but rather it was an accident for which 
there was refuge, there was escape from criminal liability. But 
if the man sits in his bush, he pre-meditates it in his heart, 
he knows that his neighbor comes home at 5.30 from work, and he 
rears back and he chops his head off, that's murder. Moses makes 
that distinction, or God through Moses makes that distinction. As well, there is an identification 
of additional capital crimes. Here in Genesis chapter 9, verse 
6, the primary offense is murder, the taking the life of another 
person. Well, when we get to the Mosaic 
economy, these are several of the crimes that are punishable 
by the sword. Murder, of course, adultery and 
unchastity, bestiality, homosexuality, rape, incest, the incorrigible 
son, Sabbath-breaking, kidnapping, solicitation to apostasy, witchcraft, 
sorcery, and false pretension to prophecy, and as well, blasphemy. And we're not going to get into 
each of these crimes and ask whether that's what the Magistrate 
of Canada should be executing for. I'd be quite content if 
they just saw the abomination that is murder and would pick 
up the sword against that particular crime. But under the Mosaic economy, 
that identification of additional capital crimes is given. But 
then as well in the Mosaic economy, in Numbers 35, there is a declaration 
given concerning the necessity of capital offense. Notice in 
Numbers 35, or capital punishment. Notice in Numbers 35 at verse 
31. Actually, we'll pick up reading 
in verse 29. And these things shall be a statute 
of judgment to you throughout your generations and all your 
dwellings. Whoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to 
death on the testimony of witnesses. But one witness is not sufficient 
testimony against a person for the death penalty. You see, it 
has built-in mechanisms. I don't just walk into the magistrate 
and say, hey, my neighbor did something wrong. Get him. Now, 
Deuteronomy 19 is very clear. If I go to the magistrate and 
allege that my neighbor committed a particular crime, if the judges 
hear the case and reckon that he is innocent, I will be guilty 
and receive the punishment that would have fallen upon him. It's 
quite ingenious. You know what it did? It discouraged soo-happy Israelites. It discouraged gossip and tailbearing. It discouraged the ruin of a 
man's reputation. Because you knew in your heart 
of hearts that if you failed to present your case and they 
rendered in his favor, whatever his punishment would have been 
now falls upon you. That's what God does as he regulates 
the application. Notice in verse 31, Moreover, 
you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is 
guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. And you 
shall take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, 
that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of 
the priest. So you shall not pollute the land where you are 
for blood defiles the land and no atonement can be made for 
the land for the blood that is shed on it except by the blood 
of him who shed it. Therefore do not defile the land 
which you inhabit in the midst of which I dwell for I the Lord 
dwell among the children of Israel. This morning I mentioned that 
case in the law of Moses with reference to the ox that doors. 
Remember, if your ox gets out and it gores somebody, you're 
held responsible for that. If it's determined that your 
ox had done that in the past, and you failed to put proper 
safeguards on it, the one he gores, or the family of the one 
he gores, can demand your life. But he could also demand financial 
remuneration. Again, it was a bit of a different 
shade than standing there waiting and trying to bury the ax in 
the guy's head. But with reference to murder, 
with reference to flat out what we call cold-blooded murder, 
premeditated, malice of forethought, there is no ransom payment. There 
is no price that one can give. It must be the blood of him who 
shed the blood. Think back to this morning, 100,000 
abortions in Canada per year. Think back to this morning, a 
million plus abortions in America per year. All that blood I know. That blood has polluted the land. We stand under the wrath of Almighty 
God when you start to piece these things together. God is angry 
with the wicked. God does not turn a blind eye. God does see these abominations 
in the land. So there is distinction made 
in the Mosaic economy, identification of additional crimes, and declaration 
given concerning its necessity. We flip over to the New Testament. 
Several lines of evidence tell us that capital punishment was 
in fact practiced and was not rejected or rebuffed by the Christian 
church. The Lord Jesus was capitally 
punished. He didn't stand out with a sign 
and say, crucifixion is wrong. The state shouldn't be executing 
criminals. No, he went willingly to death. The Apostle Paul, in 
Acts 25, as he appeals to Caesar, he's standing before the civil 
authority. He says in verse 10, I stand 
at Caesar's judgment seat where I ought to be judged. To the 
Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know. Acts 25, 
11, he says, for if I am an offender or have committed, notice, anything 
deserving of death. It seems broader than just murder. He says, if I have done anything 
deserving of death, he doesn't then stop and say, you ought 
to abolish the death penalty. It's harsh. It's barbaric. It's 
cruel. No, he says, if I have done anything 
worthy of death, I do not object to dying. But if there is nothing 
in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver 
me to them. I appeal to Caesar. And then, 
of course, the passage that we read at the outset of our time 
together, Romans chapter 13. You may turn there. Romans chapter 
13. The first thing we need to notice 
here, again, is the context. Don't interpret your Bibles apart 
from the context. Notice how chapter 13, verse 
1 begins. It says, let every soul be subject 
to the governing authorities. It doesn't say and, it doesn't 
say but, it doesn't say I'm launching into a new subject now. No, it 
continues Paul's argument from Romans 12, specifically beginning 
in verse 17. Notice Romans 12, 17. Repay no one evil for evil. Have 
regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, 
as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. It's 
a great rule. It's a great principle. That's 
the way we ought to roll. It's the way we ought to function. 
He 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. There's this common misunderstanding 
out there. For a Christian to actually want 
wrath, it's bad. But that's not what Paul says. 
Paul says, do not avenge yourselves. Paul says, give place to wrath. Whose wrath? God's wrath. Vengeance is mine, God says. 
I will repay. That's why when we turn to Revelation 
6 and we see those souls under the altar crying out for God 
to avenge the beloved martyrs and the saints who have died, 
that's not wicked. That's not wrong. That's why 
when Pastor Cam reads from Psalm 58, we shouldn't go, oh, that's 
icky or that's bad. No, they're praying out to God 
to execute his wrath. Notice in verse 20, verse 19, 
beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath 
for it is written vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the 
Lord. Therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is 
thirsty, give him a drink, for in so doing you will heat coals 
of fire on his head. Personal ethics, individual function, 
individual activity. Do not be overcome by evil, but 
overcome evil with good. And then he launches into this 
statement concerning the place of the civil magistrate in the 
lawful execution of God's wrath. Everybody see the context? Don't 
avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath. If you start 
to cry out and say, but what's going to fix my situation right 
now? I know God's going to deal with 
everything at the end, but sometimes things happen in this world of 
a criminal nature that we need regress. We need help. We need solutions. Notice how 
Paul refers to the civil magistrate. He is God's minister to execute 
wrath. It's the same word we translate 
in a church context as deacon. He is God's deacon. You see, 
in the church there are deacons. They're ministers of mercy. But 
in the civil sphere, there are deacons. There are ministers 
specifically of God's wrath. So one way to give place to wrath 
is by not going and getting a gun and shooting your enemy, but 
by redressing your situation to the civil court. God has given 
them the sword for the express purpose of executing his wrath 
in time and history before the second coming of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. That's the context. That's what 
Paul is dealing with here. Notice secondly, the duty that 
we have to submit. Verse one, let every soul be 
subject to the governing authorities. Don't complain. Don't grumble. 
Don't argue. When Paul wrote this, he was 
writing at the time when Nero was the emperor of Rome. Now, 
admittedly, Nero wasn't as bad as he would be a few years later, 
but he still was no bulwark of righteousness. He was still no 
bulwark and gem of godliness and good societal relations. So what does Paul say to the 
Christian? Be subject to the governing authorities. Notice, thirdly, the reason we 
are to submit. For there is no authority except 
from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Proverbs 8, Jesus speaking his 
wisdom, he says, by me, kings reign. Nebuchadnezzar learned 
this lesson very well in Daniel chapter 4. It is God Most High 
who raises up men to rule. So God may raise up a good man 
to be a blessing. He may raise up a bad man to 
be a scourge. But the duty that we have is 
to submit because there is no authority except from God. Notice 
fourthly the sin of resistance. It says therefore whoever resists 
the authority resists the ordinance of God and those who resist will 
bring judgment on themselves. Do you want to have no problems 
in society? Do what you're supposed to. I 
realize there can be wicked oppressive regimes and you can be, you know, 
framed and all that sort of thing. But as a general rule, especially 
here in North America, as long as you do what you're supposed 
to do, you probably will not bring down a lot of heat on yourself. 
That's what Paul's saying to the people in the Roman Empire. 
That's what he's saying to the Christians. Now certainly there 
is built in a mechanism by which we are to disobey if the magistrate 
commands us to sin. We see that in Acts 5 verse 29. The apostles are told they are 
forbidden to preach the gospel. Peter makes that declaration. 
We must obey God rather than men. So if the magistrate commands 
you to sin, you may lawfully rebel or reject that command. That's generally not the way 
it's going to go, though. The idea here is that you need 
to submit. Notice, fifthly, God's purpose 
with reference to the magistrate in society. Verse 3, for rulers 
are not a terror to good works but to evil. We ought to supply 
works there too. They're not out to punish sin. All crime is sin but not all 
sin is necessarily crime. Make sure you get that distinction. 
Let me say it again so that no one stumbles yet. All crime is 
sin. But not all sin is necessarily 
crime. In other words, if you sin in 
your closet, God's going to deal with you. But if you take that 
sin out of the closet and into the public square, and you engage 
in an evil work, it's that that the magistrate is supposed to 
address. You get that? We're not dealing 
with Orwellian thought police here. We're not dealing with 
thought crime. We're not dealing with a magistrate 
running around with the sword, punishing everybody who has a 
sinful thought. That's not Paul's point. Paul's 
point is that God gave the magistrate the sword so that when there 
are evil works carried out in society, the magistrate steps 
in and punishes that evil work. Notice, he is God's minister 
to you for good. It's a good thing. There's people 
called anarchists. They want no government whatsoever. 
I must confess sometimes that appeals to me based on what governments 
do today. However, anarchies don't work 
well because sin is in our hearts. But government in and of itself, 
I know there's abuse, I know there's bad things, but in and 
of itself it's instituted by God and it's for our good. Notice in verse 4, 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. Opponents of the death penalty 
will often argue that it has no deterrent value. It certainly 
has deterrent value on the person who is executed. He will not 
be a repeat offender. He will not be a professional 
criminal. Once he has been terminated, he will not go out to engage 
in his deeds again. But Paul says it ought to promote 
fear in the people of God. See, I believe just the opposite, 
that if the magistrate is carrying out what they're supposed to 
do, people will fear. That's why God has instituted. See ye what the Lord thinks of 
that public act of wickedness and fear Him. Fear the repercussions. So those are the primary texts. We saw the other night in Hebrews 
2.2 as we referred to that. If the word spoken through angels 
proved steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just 
reward, It wasn't barbaric. It wasn't outdated. It isn't 
bad. It isn't horrible. No, it was 
a just reward for when you engaged in public acts of evil. That's a brief biblical theology. Several other texts could be 
adduced. We could look at other things, but I hope that at least 
gets us in the ballpark. Let's look at some common objections, 
the biblical ones. The first is the argument from 
Exodus 20, verse 13, based on the King James version says thou 
shalt not kill. And some would say well therefore 
the magistrate ought never to kill anybody. The preferred interpretation 
or translation of the word is you shall not murder. For the 
very Old Testament authorizes killing in defense of oneself 
in a legitimate war and in capital punishment. A second text is 
Matthew 5, 38-42. Matthew 5, 38-42. You may turn 
there. Matthew 5, 38. You have heard 
that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 
But I tell you not to resist an evil person. Whoever slaps 
you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone 
wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your 
cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him 
too. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow 
from you, do not turn away." So those are people opposed to 
the death penalty say, well right here Jesus reverses it. He says 
that we're not supposed to want the execution of criminal offenders. 
Doesn't this sound a lot like Romans 12? Repay no one evil 
for evil. Be at peace with all men. What 
was Paul dealing with? Personal ethics. Don't be a vengeful, 
spiteful wretch that wants to kill people because you've been 
wrong. That's what Jesus is dealing with. He's not dealing with the 
place of the civil magistrate. He's not doing away with Romans 
13. He is not calling for the abolition 
of the death penalty. He is saying that in your individual 
personal lives, don't be like the Pharisees and the scribes. 
Don't be a retaliator. Don't be one who's always insisting 
on his own rights. He's not saying to lock your 
door at night. He's not saying that if somebody 
breaks into your house and rapes your wife, you tell them, hey, 
my daughter's in the last room. Why don't you go have her too? 
He's not saying that. If this text is pressed as the 
opponents want to press it, then we ought never to call the cops. We ought never to appeal to the 
governing authorities. We ought never to desire any 
justice in this world. We ought to let people run roughshod 
all over us. But that's not what Jesus is 
talking about. It is very similar in nature 
to what we find there in Romans 12. Do not avenge yourselves, 
but rather give place to wrath. For it is written, Vengeance 
is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Francis Turretin says blameless 
protection is not prohibited in Romans 12, 19, but private 
revenge. Blameless protection is not a 
problem. Somebody breaks into your house, 
you try to stop them. You don't say, the money's in 
my third drawer. Look underneath the socks. Take 
everything. Now, you may barter in your own 
mind at that particular time, and for the price, you know, 
valuing of your life, you give them some money and get out of 
it. Fine. The point of the passage, though, is private personal ethics 
in difficult situations. Not what the civil government 
does, or doesn't do. A third passage is John 8, 1-11. Again, so much more could be 
said in each of these. I'm just giving a sketch, hopefully 
again, just to get us in the ballpark and to be thinking along 
these lines. John 8, 1-11, the woman caught 
in adultery, the offense. The woman was caught in adultery, 
a capital offense, according to Leviticus 20 and Deuteronomy 
22. Notice John alerts us to something 
peculiar about this situation. You've got to be a reader with 
some attention here. You've got to track. You've got 
to listen to the text. You've got to listen to the apostle. You've got to pay attention to 
details. Notice verse 1. But Jesus went 
to the Mount of Olives. Now, early in the morning, he 
came again into the temple, and all the people came to him, and 
he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees 
brought to him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had 
set her in the midst, they said to him, Teacher, this woman was 
caught in adultery in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded 
us that such should be stoned. But what do you say? Notice what 
John tells us. This they said, testing him, 
that they might have something of which to accuse him. What's 
missing in this picture? The man. Right? I'm not a biologist, I'm not 
a scientist, I'm not a physicist, but I know this much, that if 
a woman is caught in the act of adultery, there's a willing 
man participating right there with her. You can't commit adultery solo. 
You can commit other sins of a sexual nature solo, but not 
adultery, at least as they're defining it here. Let me just qualify that. If 
you commit those sins solo, you may be committing adultery. That's not the point. That's 
another thing for another time, another discussion. But notice, 
they are showing that they don't care about the law. Do they? If they were do-gooders, if they 
wanted to rid Israel of all its pollution sexually, that man 
would have been right there with them. They don't care about that. 
They don't care about the law. They don't care about Moses. 
And John tells us as much. This, they said, testing him. They want everybody to have a 
bad picture of Jesus. You see, if Jesus sends the woman 
home, he doesn't care about the law of Moses. But if Jesus says, 
yes, based on what Moses said, execute this wretch, then he 
isn't the compassionate, gracious Savior that everyone believes 
him to be. So they have, in effect, put 
him on the horns of a dilemma. So what does Jesus do? He answers 
it beautifully. The first thing he does is that 
he upholds the law of Moses. How does he do that, you ask? 
He says, bring the witnesses. Bring the witnesses. Right? 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. I take 
this, and other commentators do, to mean this particular sin 
of adultery. When he tells this woman to go 
and sin no more, Jesus isn't Wesleyan. He's not a perfectionist. He does not think for a moment 
that a sinner can live sinlessly in this world until the eschaton. When he says, go and sin no more, 
he means, don't go commit adultery anymore. Repent of your sin. So when he says, he who is without 
sin among you, I think the background is Deuteronomy 19. That the one 
who brings the person to trial must himself not be guilty of 
this particular sin. So, in effect, he is upholding 
the law of Moses. He says, get the witnesses here. And again, verse 8, he stooped 
down and wrote on the ground, then those who heard it, being 
convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning 
with the oldest, even to the last. Several of the commentators 
will tell you it was quite common for them to have a girl on the 
side. to have their wives, to have their lawfully wedded spouses, 
but as well to be adulterers, to be profligate, to be wicked. So you see, they are in a sense 
convicted by the law that they say they're actually concerned 
about. One by one they depart. So Jesus 
upholds the law of Moses. But then Jesus demonstrates His 
gracious, merciful, kind, forgiving Savior. He says to the woman, 
where are these people? He says, neither do I condemn 
you. Go and sin no more. He exercises mercy. He exercises 
forgiveness. He exercises grace. So he does, 
in a sense, uphold Moses and his character as a gracious Savior. It's a blessed response. I wish 
that we could all learn how to respond to people the way Jesus 
did. Pragmatic objections. Capital 
punishment is not consistent with the Christian's attitude 
of forgiveness. Well, then any punishment violates 
this. Right? We should do away with writing 
tickets, because that's unmerciful. You should just forgive that 
guy when he goes 85 in a school zone. No, we don't think that. That's not right. We all believe 
that the punishment must fit the crime. Life imprisonment 
certainly does not look like forgiveness to me. It's not just 
the opposite. If I was a convicted felon, I'd 
much prefer the capital punishment that God mandates than life in 
prison with a criminal class of violators. Secondly, capital 
punishment is not an expression of mercy. What about the mercy 
the victims of violent crime deserve? And are we more merciful 
than God? I dare say we're not. And God who is merciful and God 
who is gracious has mandated in his word that capital violators 
be punished. Capital punishment thirdly is 
used on innocent people. That's a horrible thing. We ought 
to pray that such would not be the case. But again, if you look 
in the scriptures themselves, there are safeguards. There is 
the law of witnesses with DNA fingerprinting and the strides 
that have been made in science. God willing, those innocent ones 
would be kept to a minimum. The appeal process is about a 
12-year period, bottom line. Capital punishment does not deter 
crime. Fourthly, we've already dealt 
with that in Romans 13. You ought to be afraid. You ought 
to fear. There ought to be a healthy dose 
of fear in you before you go out and commit a crime. And then 
the final pragmatic objection is that capital punishment will 
prohibit salvation. In other words, if we capitally 
punish somebody, we're cutting them off from the kingdom of 
God. We're putting them into a position where they cannot 
be saved. Well, that does not do just regards the sovereignty 
of God. God is sovereign. If a man has 
committed a capital offense, God will send a preacher in there 
to call him to repentance and faith if he's one of his elect. 
Isn't it interesting in death row, you know the only one that 
gets to go in at the end is a minister? Your wife doesn't get to go in. 
Your buddy at school doesn't get to go in. Your work chums 
don't get to go in. Do you know who gets to go in? 
It's a minister. It's a beautiful thing. They 
get to hear the gospel prior to entering into eternity. I 
believe as well that if a man is legitimately repentant, he 
will be like that thief on the cross. This man has done nothing 
worthy of death, but we suffer justly for our crimes. Well, 
brethren, the death penalty or the capital punishment and the 
church, we ought to think through these issues. The sanctity of 
life is about abortion. It is about euthanasia. It is 
about drive-by shootings. It is about drug taking to the 
point of death. It is about peddlers of drugs 
pushing that garbage on little kids. It's also about capital 
punishment. God says, for in the image of 
God, he made man. It is a theological necessity 
which drives us to embrace this particular doctrine. As well, 
the inspiration, the inerrancy, and the infallibility of Scripture 
are at stake in this debate. Who do we think we are to disregard 
the sword that God has given to the magistrate that Paul prescribes 
in Romans 13? Secondly, the death penalty and 
the civil magistrate, or the civil government. It's funny 
how in our reformed world we use these words that are obsolete. 
Remember, Josh at school used magistrate. They marked that 
out. No, government. Okay, whatever 
you want to call it. Thomas Watson speaks to this 
very well in his book, The Ten Commandments. He says, to kill 
an offender is not murder, but justice. A private person sins 
if he draws the sword. A public person sins if he puts 
up the sword. A magistrate ought not to let 
the sword of justice rust in the scabbard. It is a sin for 
a private person to take up the sword. It is a sin for a public 
person to put down the sword. To kill an offender is not murder. It is justice. We need to listen 
to these Puritan forefathers as they understood and rightly 
interpreted the Bible. And then finally, the death penalty 
or capital punishment and the loss. Capital punishment is not 
the gospel. We don't go out and preach death 
to all violators of the law. The magistrate has that monopoly. The church is to preach the gospel. 
The church is to call sinners to faith in Jesus Christ. The 
church is to make much of Christ and Him crucified. The centrality 
of the cross, the centrality of Jesus, the life, the death, 
the resurrection, the ascension and current session of Jesus 
Christ must be proclaimed. We have spent a day looking at 
these life issues because they are vital. They are contained 
in the whole counsel of God. But the church's primary task 
is to preach justification by faith alone in a crucified and 
resurrected Savior. If you are outside of Christ 
tonight, believe on the Lord Jesus. Learn what God thinks 
of crime. Learn what God thinks of sin. 
See how He despises it. See how He abominates it. See 
how He loathes it. And then look to His provision, 
the Lord Jesus Christ alone, who can save you from your sins. So, Christian brothers and sisters, 
uphold the law. Uphold the gospel. Proclaim Christ 
with all your heart, with all your earnestness, and with all 
your zeal. Tell sinners about the wrath of God. Tell sinners 
about the judgment of God. Illustrate it, if you will, with 
capital punishment. But set forth Christ in His doing, 
in His dying, and in His rising again. Well, let us pray. Father, 
we thank you for your Word, and we thank you that it speaks to 
every area of thought, every area of faith and practice. We 
thank you, Lord God, that you are merciful and kind to forgive 
sinners like us. God, we probably could all look 
through the Scriptures and see various reasons why we should 
have been executed, why we should be on death row, why we should 
be in hell. And yet you have reached down 
in your mercy. because of your great love and 
you have called us out of darkness into marvelous light. We rejoice 
in the gospel. We rejoice in the good news of 
Jesus Christ and him crucified. We praise you that he is resurrected 
and that he reigns at your right hand and that he will come again 
in glory to judge the living and the dead. I pray that you 
would go with us now, help us to think clearly and biblically 
in this world. As these various issues are brought 
before our eyes and minds and our hearts, as we speak in the 
workplace or in society, give us an ability to stick close 
to your word. And we ask through Christ our 
Lord, amen. We'll close with a brief time 
of meditation and be dismissed.