The best Biblical Argument against the Death Penalty.

Many discussions have been had about the subject of Capital Punishment or the Death Penalty.  Some have even gone as far as to use the words contained within the Bible to defend and justify their stance.  I had not, personally thought about it much until I stumbled upon these passages as I was researching a totally different subject. In my early years, I too, had accepted the phrase “an eye for an eye” and was confused when I heard that Jesus asked us to “turn the other cheek.”   You see, I was so accustomed to vengeance and revenge that turning the other cheek was strange to me and because I had lived by the eye for an eye thing for so long and came to believe in it so strongly, turning the other cheek is very hard for me.  I can assume, that it is also very hard for the rest of us as well but if I am to demand of you a change from vengeance which is the only directions given to us by the first covenant to the forgiveness that is the only direction given to us by the second covenant than I too must not only talk the talk but walk the walk. 

I have made it a point to try and convince you that we as true Christians no longer are we bound by the first covenant but are regulated by the second when it comes to how we should conduct ourselves as Christians.  While the first covenant was in force, it was advisable to seek vengeance and revenge but now that the first has been replaced by the second, then our lives should be more about forgiveness and we should follow that path in all our decisions and stances.  This includes but is not only limited to the death penalty or what some call capital punishment.

From the first covenant found within the Old Testament we find in the Book of Exodus Chapter 21 verse 14 which say “However, if someone deliberately kills another person, then the slayer must be dragged even from my altar and be put to death.  This to me means that even if they are found next to God’s altar or have secured a place of asylum and safety within the walls of any church, that person should be dragged away from there and made to atone for their crime.  This could even be used to maintain and even improve our system of how we put people to death, but if we are going to call ourselves true Christians and not only say that we follow the guidance as written in the Bible but actually do it.  Then we must refuse the idea and practice of vengeance and seek to heed the request as presented by Jesus himself, the deliverer of the second covenant under which we now fall.

Jesus says in Matthews Chapter 5 verses 38 and 39 “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth but I say, do not resist an evil person!  If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.”  This means that now we must forgive those who transgress against us and instead of seeking that eye for an eye, turn the other cheek.  Now I do not believe this means giving them a free pass but putting them to death is definitely not part of the bargain.