Search The Scriptures: May 13, 2001
TIM MCVEIGH AND CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
INTRODUCTION:
A. Good morning ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to this broadcast of the bible study
program Search the Scriptures. Search the Scriptures is brought to you by the Danville
church of Christ. And, if you are a regular listener to this program, then you know that for the
next several minutes we will be engaging in a diligent study of the bible. I believe we can all
probably agree that there can be no better way to begin the Lord’s Day, than by esteeming Christ
through a study of his word. I wish to remind you that if you desire to have taped copies of this
broadcast or CD copies, then let us know and we will send them to you free of charge. Just write
or call us with your request, or you can contact us on the Internet at
www.danvillechurchofchrist.org.
B. In just a matter of days the United States Government will put to death Timothy McVeigh in
Terre Haute, Indiana as punishment for bombing the Alfred Murrah federal building on April 19,
1995, killing 168 people, which has been described as the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history.
As always with death penalty cases - passion runs hot. Many people believe the death penalty is
wrong regardless and still others believe that McVeigh should die for his crimes. I believe that
most people who have seriously and with dignity considered the matter are genuinely sincere in
their positions - whether for or against the death penalty for McVeigh. However, I also believe
that some people are merely “cashing in” on the impending death of Timothy McVeigh. Web
sites have been created to sell T-shirts and other macabre memorabilia in order to make a dollar
from this execution. People like that are morbid and tend to divert attention from the seriousness
of what is about to take place. The question for us to consider this morning - is whether the use
of the death penalty is right or wrong. Is it moral or immoral? Is it barbaric or something that
should be occurring in a civilized nation? Is the death penalty something a Christian can
support? In regard to the Tim McVeigh death penalty case there have been several articles
published concerning the so-called Christian thing to do. Headlines such as Jurors Struggle with
Religion and Civic Duty are seen in major newspapers. Also, seen is this headline: Bishops
Oppose McVeigh Death Penalty. These serve to illustrate how opinions, emotions, feelings, and
creedal philosophies address the death penalty but none have dealt with what the bible actually
says concerning the matter. Ladies and gentlemen, Catholic clergy and Protestant Pastors who
oppose the death penalty get the attention of the media with their emotional pleas against the
death penalty, but neither they nor the press seem to care what is actually taught from the
documents of the Old and New Testaments. Also, the liberal-leaning theologians try to evoke the
spirit of “Christianity” and Jesus Christ as opposed to the death penalty. Their propaganda has
been very successful as many potential “Christian” jurors refused to serve or were disqualified
because they said, their “religion” would not allow them to give a verdict that would require the
death penalty for Timothy McVeigh. Perhaps you have wondered about this. Maybe you have
read so much from those opposing the execution of Timothy McVeigh that you don’t know what
to believe about the matter. My friends, it is time to set aside our feelings and emotions
regardless of which way they happen to lean, and consult the bible in an effort to determine what
God says about the matter of capital punishment. Therefore, for the next few minutes please
allow the truth to be presented in an effort to clear up the subject once and for all.
I. Let’s begin with God’s law governing capital punishment, and “yes” God does have a law
governing and regulating the implementation of the death penalty. This is not something he has
left to the capricious impulses of men. But, to do this we must open our bibles to Gen. 9:6. There
God says, whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God
he made man. Three things are said in this verse. One concerns the act of murder described this
way: whoever sheds man’s blood. The second pertains to the punishment that was to be meted
out upon the murderer. That punishment was expressed as, by man his blood shall be shed. And,
then third, the verse states the reason for this penalty. That is, the reason the murderer was to be
put to death was because in the image of God he made man. That is, the victim was made in the
image of God. My friends, so long as each man lives he is made in the image of God, and
because of this whenever an innocent life is taken, the one taking that life is to forfeit his or her
own life. Put another way, whenever someone kills an innocent person [which is the act of
murder] then the murderer has - by his act - forfeited his right to live on earth. This is the will
and the mind of God. He said that whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed;
for in the image of God he made man. Often I hear people complaining that the death penalty is
immoral. If the death penalty is immoral, my friends, then so is the one who authorizes it. In this
case it would be God. Now, are you willing to say that God is immoral? After all it was God who
said whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God he
made man. Also, what would you say about the flood in Gen. 6-8? Remember it was God who
said in Gen. 6:7 I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth. God used
capital punishment upon the entire earth with the exception of Noah and his family. Was God
immoral? No! I don’t think so! To suggest he was is blasphemy. Also, was God immoral when
he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah in Gen. 19? I believe men and women better learn to control
their tongues when discussing the death penalty because if people begin spouting mindless
cliches, then it’s very possible they might be committing blasphemy. I can just about hear some
who are opposed to the death penalty beginning to say. “Sure God can impose the death penalty.
There isn't anything wrong with God imposing capital justice, but it isn’t God who will give the
lethal injection to Tim McVeigh in Terre Haute.” You know that sound fairly reasonable doesn’t
it? This statement suggests that before the death penalty could be moral, it would take an act of
God - such as God himself giving the lethal injection. But, the only thing wrong with that
assertion is this, the passage from Gen. 9:6 says whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood
shall be shed. This tells us that capital punishment is to be imposed - not by God but rather by
man. By man his blood shall be shed. God is telling us that all human life is sacred because it is
in the image of God. My friends, when Timothy McVeigh killed 168 innocent people, including
19 precious children, which he described in his book as collateral damage, he totally disregarded
the sanctity of human life - created in the image of God. He killed 168 men and women, boys
and girls made in the image of God, and with that act Tim McVeigh forfeited his right to live.
God said, by man his blood shall be shed. It is right and scriptural for McVeigh to be given a
lethal injection by another member of the human family. Also, one of the Ten Commandments
given at Mt Sinai included the command, you shall not murder. This statement is found in
Exod. 20:13. Now some opponents of capital punishment have used this text to support their
position. However, ladies and gentlemen, this is either the most profane use of the bible
imaginable, or it is crass ignorance - or perhaps both. In the first place, my friends, there is a
monumental difference between murder and capital punishment. All killing of another human
being is not murder. As a matter of fact, the bible makes a distinction between murder and
accidental killing. This was why God provided cities of refuge in the Old Testament. That is,
according to Num. 35: 11 then you shall appoint cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the
manslayer who kills any person accidentally may flee there. We can know from this verse that
God recognizes the difference between murder and accidental killing. Therefore, we can
understand that all taking of human life is not considered murder. There is accidental killing and
there is murder, and then there is the taking the life of a person who has committed the crime of
murder. My friends, it does not take a biblical scholar to identify that there are three different
categories of life taking. These are, accidental killing, murder and capital punishment for the
murderer. Furthermore, let’s note that the penalty imposed by God for the violation of his
command you shall not murder was, according to Ex. 21:12, death. That verse says, he who
strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. So, there you have it, my friends, if a
man violates God’s ordinance not to commit murder, he was himself to be killed. Accidental
killing isn’t murder, and the one who accidently kills another is not considered a murderer.
Instead it is the murderer who is to forfeit his life. He who strikes a man so that he dies shall
surely be put to death. Now, let’s consider this in light of the events pertaining to the crime of
Timothy McVeigh. The evidence is overwhelming that McVeigh is a mass murderer. Evidence
presented at trial and his confession indicate he violated God’s law against murder. The book he
authored admits to the crime with little or no remorse. Therefore, according to what was written
in the book of Exodus he should be put to death. Listen again as we read what Moses wrote. He
said he who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. If this decree of God was
not observed, then we are told that the land became polluted. Num. 35:33 finds God saying 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.
Additionally we read in Deut. 19:12-13 that when we find a murderer, then we are to deliver
him over to the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. Your eye shall not pity him, but
you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you. Instead
of showing pity for the admitted and convicted murderer - civilized people are to put away the
innocent blood that has been shed, and this is accomplished by executing the murderer. This is
why, ladies and gentlemen, that David, the great king, who was a man after God’s own heart,
gave orders to his son Solomon to execute those who deserved death. When David was about to
die and leave the throne to Solomon he did not commute the sentences of murderers, which is
what many gutless politicians do. Instead, David told Solomon in 1 Ki. 2:31 do as he has said,
and strike him down and bury him, that you may take away from me and from the house of my
father the innocent blood which Joab shed. David’s attitude was a far cry from the whining
clergy of today. Mark it down, my friends, when McVeigh’s execution day arrives, the syrupy
sweet, holier-than-thou clergy from both Catholicism and Protestantism will cry out against his
execution. These spineless clergy would rather disobey God and pollute this land than put to
death an admitted mass murderer. Now, some of you might be wondering why I have spent all
my time in the Old Testament. You might be thinking what, if anything, does the New Testament
have to say about the death penalty? If you are, then you have a legitimate concern. So, now let’s
consider what - if anything - the New Testament has to say about the death penalty.
II. To do this, we must note something very basic. In the first place we must remember that Jesus
made a clear distinction between his kingdom (the church) and the kingdoms of men, or as he
would have called civil government - the things of Caesar. I’m sure we all remember what
Jesus said in Matt. 22:21 when questioned about one’s spiritual and civil obligations. He said,
render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.
When Jesus established his kingdom, he did not establish a theocracy - like the kingdom of the
Old Testament, where the religious and civil codes were combined. Instead, Jesus made it clear
that his church would be separate from the state. The Lord once said in Jn. 18:36 my kingdom is
not of this world. But, on the other hand Caesar’s kingdom was and is of this world. Also, my
friends, one becomes a member of the kingdom of Christ by means of conversion - or by the new
birth. But, one becomes a member of a civil or secular kingdom by means of a natural birth or by
becoming a naturalized citizen. I believe it is important to point this out because often the words
of Jesus pertaining exclusively to his kingdom have been taken and misapplied to civil
kingdoms. For example, when Jesus said in Matt. 7:1 judge not, that you be not judged, he did
not have in mind civil judgment. To make this apply to civil courtrooms would be a total
misapplication of this text. Jesus, in this verse, is discussing relationships within the kingdom of
heaven; the church, because he says in verses 4-5 or how can you say to your brother, let me
remove the speck from your eye, and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First
remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from
your brother's eye. The Lord is not discussing judicial judgment, and it is dishonorable to even
suggest that he is. As a matter of fact when discussing judicial judging with Pilate, who was
about to condemn Jesus to death, under Rome’s capital punishment laws - we read this exchange
between Jesus and Pilate in Jn. 19:10-11. Then Pilate said to him, are you not speaking to me?
Do you not know that I have power to crucify you, and power to release you? Jesus answered,
you could have no power at all against me unless it had been given you from above. Notice,
my friends, Pilate claimed the authority to execute Jesus, and the Lord did not dispute that claim.
Instead, Jesus pointed out to Pilate that this authority was granted to him by God. Jesus told him,
it had been given you from above. Don’t you know, my friends, this would have been an ideal
place for Jesus to remind Pilate that he was not to pass judgment? This would have been an
opportune time to speak out against the evils associated with capital punishment - if capital
punishment was, in fact, wrong. Instead, Jesus simply tells Pilate that his right to execute capital
punishment was given to him by heaven. So it will do the opponents of capital punishment no
good to use verses applying to relationships within the kingdom of heaven in opposition to the
death penalty. Also, what Jesus told Pilate about receiving his authority from God is what Paul
said in Rom. 13. I want to read with you a rather lengthy passage from Rom. 13:1-7 to illustrate
to you what the New Testament tells us about capital punishment. There Paul, writes, 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. 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. In these verses the apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit tells us that all civil power is granted
by God. There is no power except from God, and God has divinely ordained that power to civil
authorities. Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, civil government is ordained of God. It is not an
instrument of Satan, but it is commissioned by God. And, additionally we are told of the purpose
of civil government in verse 4. There he said: 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. Civil authorities are ordained of God to use the sword as God’s avenger upon those who
practice evil. A sword was an instrument of death. So you see, my friends, this passage is
consistent with what we have read in the Old Testament. Both the Old and New Testaments tell
us that God expects those who have committed crimes worthy of death, to be put to death. Paul
knew this first hand when he told those who arrested him in Acts 25: 11 for if I be an offender,
or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die. Of course Paul had not
committed a crime punishable by death, but he acknowledges that if he had - he should die for it.
Now, my friends, this does not open us up to vigilante justice where men simply take personal
vengeance upon those who have committed crimes against them. This is what Timothy McVeigh
did. He said he was acting in Oklahoma City in response to what happened at Waco, Texas when
David Koresh and others were killed when the federal government sieged their compound.
Vigilante justice [or injustice] is wrong. We read in Rom. 12:19 beloved, do not avenge
yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay,
says the Lord. “But,” someone might say, “this verse forbids anyone from seeking vengeance,
including the state.” But, don’t be so quick to draw that conclusion! My friends, I have heard
opponents of the death penalty say all that capital punishment really is - is the state executing
vengeance. Then this verse is sometimes quoted in an effort to prove that the state has no right to
impose vengeance upon one of its citizens. When I hear, these news journalists quiz the victims’
families whether they want justice or vengeance I just about become sick to my stomach. This is
because the bible makes it plain that justice is vengeance. We’re not to seek individual justice or
vengeance because God has ordained a means by which he executes justice and vengeance, and
the means of that justice and vengeance are given to the civil authorities. When we are told not
to avenge ourselves - it is because God has ordained civil authorities to avenge these wrongs.
Remember Paul said in Rom. 13:4 that the civil authority is God’s instrument as an avenger to
execute wrath on him who practices evil. Civil government is that divinely ordained instrument
of God to avenge all men. Ladies and gentlemen, the lesson is clear. If a criminal abducts, robs
and murders my loved one, I have the right from God to expect the civil authorities to apprehend
the murderer and avenge that lost life by putting to death the murderer. Peter tells us that the
civil authorities have the divine responsibility to punish the evil doers in 1 Pet. 2:14. This
includes the putting to death of those who have committed crimes worthy of death. Therefore,
the principle of Gen. 9:6 that says whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed;
for in the image of God he made man - continues to be in force under the gospel of Christ.
III. But, ladies and gentlemen, regardless of the overwhelming evidence from scripture
supporting the death penalty there remain those who are opposed to it. This is so, because in
spite of what the bible says, some people are simply unwilling to believe and obey its teaching.
So for the time remaining let me note with you some arguments these people often make in
opposition to the death penalty. One is, “We can't save the soul of Tim McVeigh if we put him to
death.” Well, that’s true, but neither can we save the souls of the 168 victims who were
murdered. They are all already in eternity, but McVeigh and others facing death for their crimes
have a better opportunity to become Christians than their victims. I say this because as far as the
murderer is concerned, his approaching death might provide the best time to discuss his soul’s
salvation. On the other hand, if he believes he will live an indefinite length of time he might
harden his heart and become closed to the truth, and never become a Christian. But, another
objection I often hear is this one; “The death penalty does not deter (or prevent) murders.”
Usually when this is said, statistics are presented to support the claim. I’m not sure one way or
the other about what the statistics show, and frankly I don’t care because, this should never
become a consideration as to whether the death penalty is to be used. And the reason is,
forfeiture of one’s right to live and not determent is what the death penalty is all about. The
murderer has forfeited his or her right to live. Regardless of statistics, capital punishment is a
deterrent to some degree, because the one who has been executed will never commit another
murder. The reason that the death penalty in this country is no deterrent is because a murderer
might spend fifteen to twenty years awaiting execution. Appeal after appeal is filed - one stay
after another is granted until the entire system becomes a joke. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a
mockery of the teaching of the bible. The scriptures tell us in Eccl. 8:11 because the sentence
against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set
in them to do evil. If you want to deter crime - make the penalty swift, and make it sure. If not,
then criminals only become embolden in their evil. Now, I know that McVeigh has waved his
appeals and opted to willing submit to his punishment. Many people are praising him for this. I,
on the other hand, am resistant to praise him for anything. He should be executed whether he
goes willingly or kicking and screaming. I, for one, believe he is manipulating the emotions of
men and woman. He has waved his appeals, not because he believes justice should be swift and
sure, but because he wants people to either make a martyr of him or praise him for his
willingness to die. But, someone else might object to capital punishment by saying “The death
penalty is simply premeditated murder.” This objection is nothing but a prejudicial lie designed
to touch the strings of your heart. The death penalty is not premeditated murder, instead it is prelegislated
justice. Remember it was God who pre-legislated this justice when he said whoever
sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed. There is a difference between murder and
justice, and all intelligent men and women without political agendas know the difference. Then
there is the objection that asks, “What righteous man could ever execute another human
being?” I guess those who ask this know more about it than God knows. I believe that each of us
would agree that the prophet Samuel was a righteous man, yet he became an executioner. In 1
Sam. 15:33 we read that this good man executed an evil man. The verse says and Samuel
hacked Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. My question to these people who make such
an argument is this, “Why can't a righteous man do what some righteous God commands?” If a
righteous God commanded it then a righteous man can carry out the command. Someone else
might object to the death penalty by saying, “Killing the guilty will not restore the life of the
innocent.” And I must admit that this is true. As in the case of Timothy McVeigh, his death will
not restore to life the 168 people he killed. Their families will still have a void that cannot be
filled. Despite what these hurting families hope, McVeigh’s death will not bring any closure.
The memory of the death of their loved ones will continue to haunt them. They will remain as
dead after McVeigh’s execution as before. But, I’ll tell you this - if his sentence had been
commuted to life in prison, that would not have restored to life those he killed either. So I guess
the obvious conclusion is - since no punishment will bring the dead back - then we should
eliminate any punishment and just set all criminals free.
CONCLUSION:
A. Ladies and gentlemen, we could add to these few objections many more, but regardless of the
objections one might offer - the bible remains the same. The bible still says whoever sheds
man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God he made man. This will
never change no matter what the ACLU does, or what the Supreme Court may decide in the
future. We can wail and howl until we lose our voices - and we can complain that the death
penalty is cruel and unusual punishment but the fact remains - the murderer is to die. That fact,
my friends, is ordained of God. Frankly, there is nothing cruel about the way Timothy McVeigh
will slip into eternity. What was cruel and what was unusual was the way he, without a whisker
of conscience was able to plant a bomb in front of a building with 168 innocent men, women,
boys and girls. Then get out of the truck, walk a few blocks and watch the reign of terror that
will forever change this nation. He will be treated much more humanely than the people he
murdered.
B. Thanks for being with us for today. Stay tuned for some important closing announcements
and be sure to join us again next week as we again open our bibles and Search the Scriptures.
Until then, for the Danville church of Christ, this is J.R. Bronger saying goodbye for now.