Clifton Koilpillai – 1st Position Paper

Can I take you Life?

The death penalty or capital punishment has been a controversial topic for many years.

Many Bible scholars, Christians, and people of all backgrounds struggle with the same question:

is the death penalty morally acceptable? Many questions arise: should Christians have the power

to kill? Is death the best option for a murderer? This topic is important to study because it is

comforting to know what the Bible supports and does not support. In this paper, we will look at

what the death penalty is, what the Bible says about it, and why the death penalty is morally

acceptable, and is it okay to use it? Many verses in scripture support capital punishment, and

with further study of the Bible, we can understand why the death penalty is acceptable in today’s

day and age.

Capital punishment or the death penalty is the legal punishment for a crime by death. It is

often legally given to criminals if their offense is deemed worthy of death. Many states have

abolished the death penalty because they find it against human rights. However, God does not

think so. God is a God of justice, and He promises those who are wronged that He will repay

them (Romans 12:19). If we look early in the Bible in the book of Genesis, God speaks to Noah

and his family and says, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; For in the

image of God He made man (Genesis 9:6). God is saying here that if someone sheds man’s

blood, then that someone can expect to be shed by man’s blood too. In Exodus 21:12, God says,

“He who strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death." Then He says in Numbers 35:16,

“But if he strikes him with an iron implement, so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer
shall surely be put to death.” Reading these texts, we know that God supports the death penalty if

a great sin has been committed. We read here and in many other places in the Bible that if a man

commits murder, they are subjected to death.

Was death the only cause of the death penalty during the Bible times? No. Throughout the

Scriptures we find examples of circumstances that would require someone to be put to death,

“striking or cursing a parent (Exod 21:15, 17), kidnapping and selling a person (Exod 21:16),

Sabbath profanation (Exod 31:14–15, Num 15:32–35), child sacrifice (Lev 20:2), adultery (Lev

20:10), incest (Lev 20:11), homosexuality (Lev 20:13), sodomy (Lev 20:15–16), spiritualism

(Lev 20:27), blasphemy (Lev 24:16), idolatry (Deut 13:1–5), and premarital sex (Deut 22:23–

24)” (Death Penalty: An Opinion). These Old Testament practices did not apply to the Christian

church in the New Testament, but it is still interesting to note that God commanded the death of

those involved in such acts. But why? If God is a God of love, why would He command such

things? God is a God of justice, and everything He does is for us. Numbers 35:33-34 says, “You

shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be

made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. You

shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the Lord dwell in

the midst of the people of Israel.” Here it says that God doesn’t want us to “defile” the land in

which He gave us. If we allow murderers to go free without consequence, what are we doing?

We are saying it’s okay it’s okay to murder which will result in more murders and horrendous

crimes because criminals will think that nothing serious will happen to them. Which is why God

asked for the death of those who defiled the land to be an example NOT to murder or do bad

things.
 Going back to the differences between the Old Testament and New Testament, one can

argue that these circumstances for the death penalty are a thing in the past and do not apply to

Christians today. This is a fair argument, but when we look at murder specifically, we can know

that that should not be taken lightly. Being the fifth of the Ten Commandments, we are told not

to murder (Exodus 20:13). The circumstances listed for death above were all mosaic laws, which

one can argue was let go during the creation of the New Covenant. But one of the commands of

God was given during the time of Noah, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be

shed; For in the image of God He made man (Genesis 9:6). We cannot murder one another, and

if one does, then the death penalty should be an option for them.

I say an option and not a must because of the plain fact that Jesus taught love. Jesus

taught us to forgive and love our enemies (Luke 6:35). We are also called to “forgive one another

just in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). What I am arguing in this paper is whether or

not the death penalty is supported, and it is. Should it be practiced? That is up to the individuals

involved. Forgiveness is a MUST, but the criminal convicted of murder can be subjected to the

death penalty if the Jury verdicts. Can you or I give someone the death penalty? Can the church

give someone the death penalty? The answer is a clear no and no. In the sermon on the mount in

Matthew 5, Jesus teaches us to live righteous lives and be loving. He is teaching everyday

Christians how to live. So when we ask ourselves who then is in charge of giving someone the

death penalty? That is the government. Romans 13: 1-4 says, “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, an avenger to execute wrath on him who

practices evil.” This verse tells us that those in authority are God’s ministers, and we must

submit to them. They are the ones who can proceed with the death penalty.

Another reason why people are against the death penalty is because of all the innocent

people who are framed for doing something they didn’t do. In the Bible times, to avoid innocent

people from dying, it was commanded by God that at least two or three witnesses must be

present to testify that the act was done, “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for

any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense he has committed. Only on the

evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established,” (Deuteronomy

19:15). Even the author of Hebrews writes this, “Anyone who set aside the law of Moses without

mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses” (Hebrews 10:28). This principle makes sure

that no one innocent would be wrongfully accused and that those condemned would have

actually done the murder or crime. This same principle can be applied today. Those doomed of

the death penalty would have to have at least two or three people testifying about what he or she

has done. And those without any witnesses testifying would be set free because they would have

no proof of the crime.

In the end, the death penalty is a controversial topic that not many Christians want to

face. The Bible supports the use of the death penalty, with many verses backing it up. The

strongest is the one in Genesis 9:6. We are made in the image of God, and God does not take the

bloodshed of man lightly. Those questioning on how a loving God would ever support such a

thing needs to understand that God does not take lightly when His commandments are being

broken, “Though God may not now punish the transgression of His law with temporal penalties,
yet His word declares that the wages of sin is death; and in the final execution of the judgment it

will be found that death is the portion of those who violate His sacred precepts." (Patriarchs and

Prophets pg. 409/EGW Estate). In the end, God will destroy the wicked. He will destroy those

who decide to take the lives of others.

The Bible supports the death penalty, but should it be used all the time? The death

penalty should only be used when someone commits a murder, shedding innocent blood. Any

other reason is not sufficient enough to take life from a person, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by

man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man (Genesis 9:6). Jesus did

teach love. He taught us to forgive one another always. But John Calvin words it nicely,

“Christian forgiveness did not mean overturning established laws.” (The Conversation). We must

forgive one another, but if you shed man’s blood, by man, his blood shall be shed.
 Bibliography

“100 Bible Verses about the Death Penalty.” What Does the Bible Say About The Death
Penalty?, https://www.openbible.info/topics/the_death_penalty.

Death Penalty: An Opinion Briec September 2017. https://adventistbiblicalresearch.org/wp-

“Ellenwhite.org Website - Death Penalty.” Ellen G. White Estate,

Holy Bible. Zondervan, 2011.

Mathew Schmalz Associate Professor of Religion. “Is the Death Penalty Un-Christian?” The
Conversation, 13 Nov. 2019, https://theconversation.com/is-the-death-penalty-un-
christian-76687#:~:text=In%20the%20Hebrew%20Bible%2C%20Exodus,to%20him
%20the%20other%20also.%E2%80%9D.

Romans 13 NKJV - - Bible Gateway, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans