Maybe I should bring up Luke 22 here also, where our Lord Jesus told His disciples before sending them out to preach The Gospel to go buy a sword if they didn't yet have one?
Lot of brethren just can't understand that when executing a murderer, that person is not dead forever and gone, yet. And nor is the victim of the murderer, for Abel's blood cried to God from the ground. God is waiting on the murderer to appear before His Throne, and the murderer will. What our Heavenly Father decides to do with that murderer after that point is not up to us. It is not up to 'us' to judge a murderer to condemnation into the "lake of fire". But it is... up to God's people to judge a murderer according to the authority that God gives His people, and to put evil away from among us.
Pacifism in today's Churches is not from God. It is from the enemies of God who do not want 'us' to pull the plug on any of the evil "workers of iniquity" and send them to God Who is waiting on them. And the one's I'm talking about pulling the plug on are the truly evil ones that would rape a little child to death, murder in cold hard hatred blood, etc. I'm not talking about those manslayers who get in a bar fight and accidently kill someone. I'm talking about truly ruthless sickos that act no better than mad rabid dogs who deserve to be put down.
But do you see how today's society LOVES murderers? Don't people just love filthy movies about Hannibal Lecter and the Hollywood devil's horror movies and such? "Oh, that's just entertainment," some idiot would say. No, it's called conditioning towards acceptance of evil, so as to allow it to keep existing! Sadly I know the state of mind many have towards accepting evil must be, for it was foretold in prophecy of God's Word. But it doesn't mean we have to agree with it, nor like it!
Does this mean 'we' don't have compassion for rabid dogs that we know have to be put down? Won't God be sad when He will bring the "lake of fire" to destroy the wicked in final? Afterall, those are His children He created too.
Something else that bites at me, are those who try to use Moses and David as guilty of murder to compare them to rabid dogs that would rape a little child to death, just to keep pushing Pacifist dogma to allow rabid dogs to runs on our streets! I ain't so sure that what Moses did was truly murder, but manslaughter, since he did it in defense of his Hebrew brothers that were being beaten by the Egyptian. Concerning David having Uriah the Hittite put in front of battle in hopes that he would be killed so as to take his wife Bathsheba, that was a sin, including a sin of lust. And God took David's first son as penalty for it.
I recall years ago south Florida had a major crime problem, and it was when hand gun carry laws weren't there. Then hand gun carry laws were passed and we started hearing of robbers mugging people at airports, which is a no brainer, for the thieves knew passengers weren't coming out of the airports armed. I saw a show like Face the Nation where the show host interviewed Sarah Brady about south Florida's crime rate suddenly dropping because citizens allowed concealed carry permits, and she flat lied and denied that hand gun carry laws had anything to do with it. She even stated the gun carry laws made the crime rate go up instead!
Truth of the matter is that criminals want easy pickin's. They don't want to mess with someone who might be carrying a weapon to protect themselves and knows how to use it. Our Lord Jesus knew this too, which is why He commanded His disciples to go buy a sword...
Luke 22:35-36
35 And He said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.
36 Then said He unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.
(KJV)
Luke 22:36 KJV+
(36) ThenG3767 saidG2036 he unto them,G846 ButG235 now,G3568 he that hathG2192 a purse,G905 let him takeG142 it, andG2532 likewiseG3668 his(G2532) scrip:G4082 andG2532 he that hathG2192 noG3361 sword, let him sellG4453 hisG848 garment,G2440 andG2532 buyG59 one.(G3162)
do you notice that there is no strong's reference for the word 'sword' in this verse?
Matthew 26:52 KJVR
(52) Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place:
for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. (emphasis added)
Is Jesus talking to a 'cold blooded murderer' here? according to John 18:10, it is Peter who the Lord is talking to, who just cut off a man's ear in defense of Jesus. why didn't Jesus acknowledge that He Himself had told Peter to bring a sword? did Jesus say "all those who take the sword
except to execute a murderer shall perish by the sword'?
one scripture taken out of context is poor justification for the death penalty.
i am not a pacifist; when the last day comes i'll be more than eager to fight the Lord's enemy's to their eternal death. I am a Christian; a 'little Christ' - and other than this questionable interpretation of Luke 22:36, i know of no other scripture that in any way indicates that Jesus is advocating killing anyone - even murderers. if you know of scriptures that justify your interpretation of Luke 22:36, please post them (Mat 18:15,16).
Exodus 2:11-12 KJVR
(11) And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren.
(12) And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
Moses was careful to be sure to
take the time to see that no one was looking before he slew the egyptian - while the man he 'avenged' was being beaten - is this how a righteous man protects someone? why did he bury the man in the sand - do people who kill in defense of others hide the body of the slain? Moses was still a prince of Egypt when this happened, he didn't need to cover up the slaying of this man if his motive was truly right - he knew in his heart he was wrong, and that's why he tried to cover it up.
2 Samuel 12:9 KJVR
(9) Wherefore hast
thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight?
thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
This is Nathan repeating what
God had said to him - if
God said that David Killed Uriah, then David wasn't just 'in hopes' that Uriah would die.
2 Samuel 12:14 KJVR
(14) Howbeit, because by this deed
thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.(emphasis added)
Did God say the
He would kill the child? Did God say
when the child would die? Would this still be true if the child had lived a full life? what was David's reaction?
2 Samuel 12:22 KJVR
(22) And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept:
for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?(emphasis added)
was David in faith? was he believing in God's goodness to heal the child? was David (a descendant of Abraham) resting in the promise of Abraham as Abraham did when he was to offer Isaac?
Hebrews 11:17-19 KJVR
(17) By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
(18) Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
(19)
Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. (emphasis added)
David, as a descendant of Abraham, also had this promise from God - but he didn't react in faith as Abraham did...
Mark 9:23 KJVR
(23) Jesus said unto him,
If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.(emphasis added)
This is what Jesus said to another father...
In 1Samuel 12:9, did God mention Uriah or Bathsheba? What did God say was the evil that David had done? '
thou despised the commandment of the LORD'
as far as protecting my home is concerned, i will definitely resist someone who threatens the safety of those in my home, and do so with deadly force if necessary - but not with the intent of taking their life. carrying a gun and being willing to use it in self defense is far short of intending to kill someone under the excuse of self defense.
your response overlooks the most important truth about the death penalty:
1 Samuel 16:7 KJVR(7) But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him:
for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
when you sentence a man to death, you elevate yourself to God's equal by making this judgment. how can you overlook this?
God loves you just as much no matter what you do or think - but this line of thinking will definately affect how much you love Him