SF554 - TIMELESS TRUTHS FOR TERRIBLE TIMES CAPITAL PUNISHMENT AND THE CHRISTIAN (Romans 12 17-13 5)
SF554
TIMELESS TRUTHS FOR TERRIBLE TIMES
Capital Punishment And The Christian
Romans 12:17-13:5
INTRODUCTION
Romans 12-13: Threefold Responsibility
12:1-2: Our responsibility to our Savior
12:9-16: Our responsibility to the saints
12:17-13:5: Our responsibility to society
There is today a great debate concerning what the Bible teaches about Capital punishment.
How are we to approach this issue?
What does the New Testament say concerning the taking of life and the punishment for murder?
What does it mean to be humane?
Where does justice fit in?
Paul deals with these issues in this passage.
He gives both a prohibition and a principle....
1A. THE PROHIBITION OF REVENGE (12:17-21)
1B. Because Revenge Destroys Relationships (17-18)
(2 Corinthians 8:21) For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.
1C. Our tendency to over react
We tend to act out of anger when we have been personally wronged.
2C. The limitation of our knowledge
We can never really know another person’s motive!
3C. Revenge tends to breed revenge! - No peace!
(Proverbs 24:29) Do not say, "I'll do to him as he has done to me; I'll pay that man back for what he did."
2B. Because Revenge is a Sin (19)
1C. It is disobedience to God’s command
(Leviticus 19:18) "'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
2C. It reveals a lack of faith
(Proverbs 20:22) Do not say, "I'll pay you back for this wrong!" Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.
3C. It is a form of robbery from God
(Deuteronomy 32:35) It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them."
3B. Because Revenge Eliminates the Opportunity to Witness (20-21)
1C. Our actions speak louder than our words...
(Luke 6:32‑33) "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. {33} And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that.
2C. Good is more powerful than evil
Whenever we seek revenge we give into evil and surrender God’s victory!
2A. THE PRINCIPLE OF RESTRAINT(13:1-5)
1B. God’s Ministers of Restraint (13:1-3)
God repays through human justice and through human law.
1C. God establishes all government (1)
An evil government is God’s reward to a sinful, rebellious people!
2C. God ordains all government (2)
Rebellion against the government is rebellion against God!
3C. God rewards through government (3)
2B. God’s Method of Restraint (13:4)
1C. The sin
(Exodus 20:13) "You shall not murder.
2C. The sentence
The Sword is an instrument of death not an instrument of discipline!
(Genesis 9:6) "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.
(Exodus 21:12) "Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death.
3B. God Motive for Restraint (13:5)
1C. Because God is Love
He loves us too much to allow sin to go unpunished!
Softness to the criminal is cruelty to the community
If you love people you will hate sin!
2C. Because society is sin sick
Serious sickness calls for strong medicine!
Capital punishment is an effective deterrent to crime - that murderer will never murder again!
King Henry VIII
Henry the eighth once pardoned a murderer and that murderer killed another man. They came back to King Henry and they said we're going to ask you to pardon him the second time and this is what Henry said. “No, I want do it, he killed the first man, I killed the second man but I’ll kill no more.”
3C. Because God is just
The penalty fits the crime!
The innocent are protected
The guilty is faced with the consequences of their action
APPLICATION
As individuals we have no right to “get even”
God has established government and has given us laws to restrain evil
God will not allow sin to go unpunished
Either Christ will have paid for it on the cross or the sinner will pay for it in Hell!
(Galatians 6:7) Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.