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whar is lawful and righr, he shall
ccrrainly livc" (Ezekiel 33:14-16,
Moffarr).
An Alcernacive co che
Deacb Penalty
Is rhere a workable alternar ivc
tn
roday's world
to
capital punishmcnr
for serious crime?
Afrer examining rhe Scriprural
record, we find rhar rhe Bible is quite
clcar. Alrhough nations may arrempr
ro
abolish rhe dearh penal()•, che Bible
makes plain char rhere are cerrain
cases where no orher penalty is suir–
able.
1
n che case of hardened, incorri–
gible criminals - rhose who will nor
repenr of rheir crimes - no orher
penalty wi ll solve che problcm. If
rcleased from prison, such criminals
will rcrurn ro crime, and pcrhaps rape
or murder again. Such criminals
deserve che dearh penalty.
For rhose who are guilry of such
hcinous crimes and descrvc dearh, bur
who, from rhe hearr,
repent,
and who
bri ng forrh unmisrakable evidencc in
rheir acritudes and lives rbar rhey have
tmly
rcpenced. rhe Bible docs provide
an alrernarive for che dearh penalty.
Thar alrernarive is forgiveness - par–
don - grace!
If a man repenrs of his pase deeds,
and proves by his life rhar he has
tmly
changed, rhen God no longer holds
his pase deeds against him. ln rhe
New Tesramenc. chis acr of merey is
callee! ''grace," meaning "pardon."
This is rhe approach and example
our modern sociery irself oughr ro
follow. Our free arricle, "The New
Tcsramenc Teaching on Law and
Gracc," makes chis subjecr plain.
The Inability of Man
The problem wirh capital punish–
menr roday is nor rhe pri ncipie irsclf,
but thc inabil iry of
man
cut off from
God ro adminisrer ir fairly, wisely,
righreously. Larger issues emerge.
Does man of himself have rhe capac–
iry ro be absolutel}' jusr, fair, and
equirable? Do humans have che
innace
ability
ro judge righreously?
Even when sincere men rry rheir
40
besr, can they
be
urcerly confidenr
rhar rhey haven'e made a misrake?
Whar man has che abiliry ro look
inro rhe human heart and ro judge
wirh absolure fairncss? In sorne cases
che answer may appear clear cu t - but
whac abour borderl ine cases?
When che Pharisecs broughr a
woman caughr in rhc acr of adultef)'
ro
Jesus Chrisr, che law said she
should be pur ro dearh (Lev.
20:10).
Bur whar did Jesus rcll che Pharisees
who accused her? "Ler che innocenr
among you rhrow che firsr srone ar
her" Gohn
8:7,
Moffarr).
When He said rhat, rheir con–
sciences burned wirhin chem, and
rhey Jefe His presence one by one,
until only che woman was lefr wirh
Jesus and His disciples. Then Jesus
said ro her: "Woman, where are rhey?
Has no one condemned you?"
She replied, "No one, sir."
And Jesus said ro her, ·'Neirher do
1;
be off. and nevcr sin again" (verses
9-ll) .
Jesus could discern rhe human
hean. He could ce ll rhar chis woman
was sorrowful, contri ce, and repenranr
in arritude. He forgave her che sin.
Bur whar man has rhat divine abil–
iry
ro
discern che inner motives of che
heart?
The poinr is simply chis: Human
beings - weak, fa ll iblc, emocional,
shorrsighrecl, prejudiced as rhey ofcen
are - are simply
unable
ro always
execuce crue jusrice and judgmenr!
Where does rhis !cave us?
T
rue
]
ustice
This facr oughr ro reach us a fun–
damental lesson - rhar man ought
nor look ro himself ro bring jusrice ro
che earrh. He ought ro look ourside
himself - above himself - ro God.
che Crearor.
God sent an announccmenr by
]esus
Christ rhat He is going ro
esrablish a world-ruling kingdom on
chis earth where rrue jusrice will
reign. Isaiah rhe prophet records how
rrue justice will come: "He will nor
judge by appearances, nor decide by
hearsay, but acr wirh jusrice ro che
helplcss and decide fairly for rhc
humblc; he will srrike down the rurh–
lcss wirh his verdicrs, and slay rhe
unjusr with his sencences" (Jsa. 11:3-
4,
Moffarr).
lsaiah, chaprer
42,
makcs ir even
plaincr: "See! my servanr,
whom
r
uphold; my chosen one, in whom
I
dclighr.
I
have pur my spirir upon
him. He shall bring forch jusrice ro
che narions... . Fairhfully shall he
bring forrh juscice; He shall nor
llicker or bend. rill he esrablisb jusrice
in rhe carth, and che coasr-lands wair
for his reaching" (verses
1-4,
The
Complete Bible).
Jud~ing
che narions wirh chis
King will be rhose who bavc yiclded
rhemsclves in chis age ro rhe govern–
menr of God. In Bible language rhey
are called ··God's people." The
Apostle Paul asked, .. Do you nor
know rhar God's people are ro be rhc
juclges of che world?"
(I
Cor.
6:2.
Goodspeed.)
Tbis planee is crying out for che
di vine Kingdom of God and che gov–
ernmenr of Jcsus Chrisr and for His
disciplcs made immorral and incor–
ruptible
(1
Cor.
15:50-52).
You can be a parr of rhat govern–
menr.
You can qualify now
ro
help rule
che narions under
Jesus
che Messiah
by overcoming your own human
nacure by purcing wrong acrions out
of your life. By learning ro obey
God's commandmenrs now, you can
become a pare of rhar righreous sys–
rem of governmenr.
Those who qualify will be given
divine powers and will
be
able ro
discern rhe innermosc rhoughrs and
inrenes of rhe hearr of men. They will
be lifred ro a new plane of abiliry -
che God plane. And rheir decisions
wi ll be absolurely
just/
Six rhousand years of human expe–
riencc oughr to drum inro our minds
che lesson rhat man, of himself, is
unable ro adminiscer jusrice and
punish evildoers equirably. Bur God
is able - and He will when His
governmenr is esrablished on
earth. O
PlAIN TRUTH November 1972