Believe
Active member
The issue of capital punishment has set Christian against Christian, church against church, conservative against conservative, and liberal against liberal. The problem is complex, touching the deeper question of the value, dignity, and sanctity of human life. Personally believe spending the rest of your life in the prison cell the size of a household bathroom with another criminal enclosed proximity is worse than the death penalty.
But if you want to dig deep into studying capital punishment it must begin with an understanding of the primary function of government as originally ordained by God. Romans 13:1–7 is the classic text concerning God’s ordination of government. This text is the most comprehensive and emphatic statement that the Scriptures give us regarding the notion that the power of government is rooted in the ordination of God. It is important to note that the apostle is not speaking here of a theocratic state but of secular government. The text of Romans reads as follows:
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
The “governing authorities” are understood to be ordained by God. We are not privileged to obey only those authorities that we consider to be legitimate. I don't believe God endorse everything civil magistrates do, but he does give them certain rights and requires our obedience to them. No government rules autonomously.
All civil authorities must, and ultimately will, answer to God. We have the responsibility of obeying even corrupt governments except under certain conditions. Civil obedience is required repeatedly by the Word of God. The principle that governs our right and responsibility to disobey civil authority is this: we must obey those in authority over us unless they command us to do what God forbids or forbid us to do what God commands.
The only ultimate alternative to government is anarchy, in which each man lives for himself. Thus, government was instituted as an act of God’s grace to protect the weak and the righteous from the wicked. I believe our government most certainly could be doing a better job.
Releasing people that are charged with a very serious crime with no bail Is an extremely bad idea. So is having open borders.
But if you want to dig deep into studying capital punishment it must begin with an understanding of the primary function of government as originally ordained by God. Romans 13:1–7 is the classic text concerning God’s ordination of government. This text is the most comprehensive and emphatic statement that the Scriptures give us regarding the notion that the power of government is rooted in the ordination of God. It is important to note that the apostle is not speaking here of a theocratic state but of secular government. The text of Romans reads as follows:
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
The “governing authorities” are understood to be ordained by God. We are not privileged to obey only those authorities that we consider to be legitimate. I don't believe God endorse everything civil magistrates do, but he does give them certain rights and requires our obedience to them. No government rules autonomously.
All civil authorities must, and ultimately will, answer to God. We have the responsibility of obeying even corrupt governments except under certain conditions. Civil obedience is required repeatedly by the Word of God. The principle that governs our right and responsibility to disobey civil authority is this: we must obey those in authority over us unless they command us to do what God forbids or forbid us to do what God commands.
The only ultimate alternative to government is anarchy, in which each man lives for himself. Thus, government was instituted as an act of God’s grace to protect the weak and the righteous from the wicked. I believe our government most certainly could be doing a better job.
Releasing people that are charged with a very serious crime with no bail Is an extremely bad idea. So is having open borders.
