Americans seem to have a fondness for t.v. shows which deal with crooks and cops.
Cops is another program watched by some.
There are numerous detective shows.
IF WE ARE FASCINATED BY CRIME AND THE CRIMINAL
JUSTICE SYSTEM, GOD’S WORD SHOULD BE ESPECIALLY INTERESTING TO US. THE BIBLE SAYS A
a) I cannot put most of this information into one lesson so the material will extend beyond tonight.
b) For this evening I want to list some reasons why governments are to punish those who commit crimes.
c) This information, from what I can tell, is desperately needed in society.
d) We are in a time when many are saying, “Rehabilitate and do not punish people.”
e) “We need to reform people instead of turning them into a hardened criminal.”
f) “If we love people, punishment will be set aside.”
g) Last week we were introduced to Rom. 13.
h) Paul spoke of governments using the sword to punish people.
i) Peter made a similar point in 1 Pet. 2:14.
j) Tonight this is the passage that starts our study. READ 1 Pet. 2:14.
k) In speaking about governing authorities Peter said they are to “execute vengeance on evil doers.”
l) God’s will is for a government to punish people who do bad things.
i) From time to time I am asked about the notorious lawbreakers in society.
ii) What about those who commit crimes like Timothy McVeigh?
iii) What about those who abuse the innocent and incompetent?
iv) What about the people who commit heinous crimes against thousands of people?
v) Why doesn’t God come down from heaven and take the lives of terrible people?
vi) Isn’t God concerned with justice? Is He too weak or uninvolved to take action?
vii) Where is He when people commit atrocities against others and society?
viii) God has the ability to destroy any man, woman, or nation.
ix) In the past there were times when God sometimes punished people on an individual basis.
x) Sodom and Gomorrah were dealt with in this way.
xi) There other examples of God dispensing justice on the spot.
xii) In our day and time a different system is in place.
xiii) God has determined that governments will be His tool to punish bad people.
xiv) Do we remember how God gave man command over all the earth (Gen. 1:29-30; 9:1-4)?
xv) God said to man, “You are in charge; subdue the earth.”
xvi) A similar charge is present in society.
xvii) Man has been charged with praising those who do good and punishing wrongdoers.
xviii) This responsibility is to be fulfilled by civil government.
2) FROM WHAT HAS BEEN SAID GOVNERMENTS ARE TO PUNISH THOSE WHO COMMIT CRIMES. THIS DUTY EXISTS SO OTHERS WILL THINK TWICE BEFORE THEY COMMIT CRIMES.
a) When we study the Bible we find that governments are to punish people to help deter crime.
b) In our day and time some dispute this.
c) Studies are brought forward to suggest that punishment does not deter crime.
d) I have ever heard members of the church suggest that this is true.
e) Here is what God says to those who would have us believe the studies, Rom. 13:3.
f) To those who break the law rulers should be a “terror.”
g) Governments should have a system that creates “fear” in the hearts of the disobedient.
i) When this fear exists and punishment is dispensed there is a deterrent to crime.
ii) In our country a lot of the fear is gone.
iii) This lack of concern about what will happen when laws are broken has caused lawlessness.
iv) Have we read about some of the recent riots on college campuses?
v) People do not get their way or what they want and they riot.
vi) Cars are overturned; windows are broken; and things are set on fire.
vii) Many seem to treat these acts as casually as a change in the weather.
viii) Folks, something is seriously amiss in our nation.
ix) Part of the problem is a weakening of laws and a reduced deterrent against criminal acts.
x) I would like for us to carefully consider a well-known reference from Acts 16.
xi) Paul and Silas were in prison. They had been unjustly treated and locked up.
xii) Luke records how these men converted their jailor.
xiii) Some time passed and it was decided to let Paul and Silas go.
xiv) This information is in Acts 16:35-39.
xv) When people found out that Paul and his helper were Romans, they were afraid.
xvi) Why? It was against the law to beat a Roman, especially an uncondemned Roman.
xvii) Breaking this law meant losing one’s job.
xviii) Also, breaking this law meant that guilty party could never again hold public office.
xix) This law was enforced, and these people feared the law.
xx) The begged Paul to leave the city.
xxi) When a nation has strong laws and enforces them it is obeying God’s will.
xxii) This approach in government serves as a deterrent to crime.
xxiii) The current idea that we water down our laws and let people off is wrong.
xxiv) Prov. 22:15 expresses a similar thought.
xxv) Foolishness is “bound up in the heart of a child.”
xxvi) How is this problem to be addressed?
xxvii) The text continues with, “The rod of correction shall drive it far from him.”
xxviii) There must be rules, and the rules must be enforced if order is to prevail.
xxix) If bad behavior is to be stopped there must be good laws that are enforced.
3) AS OUR SOCIETY BECOMES LESS AND LESS ORIENTED TOWARDS GOD OTHER CHANGES ARE MORE AND MORE EVIDENT.
a) Many now object to incarceration. There is an increased call for reform or a second chance.
b) Our idea of a “get tough” program is “Three strikes and you’re out.”
c) Listen to what God had to say about people who wouldn’t behave.
d) There are a string of references that can be read from the book of Deuteronomy.
e) Deut. 13:5; 17:7; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21; 24:7.
i) God told the Hebrew people, “Put away the evil among you.”
ii) In many cases this was accomplished by capital punishment.
iii) In some fashion the offender had to be cut off from the people.
iv) This is a job for our government. Civil government is to deal with offenders.
v) Those who do wrong and commit crimes need to be cut off from society.
vi) Someone says, “That’s unkind. What about rehabilitation?”
vii) Rehabilitation, to a certain degree, sets aside the will of God.
viii) From the first chapter of the Bible we have the principle of sowing and reaping.
ix) What we sow is what we reap.
x) Many wish to say, “I did what was wrong. I sowed bad seed.”
xi) “How can I reap the good harvest called rehabilitation?”
xii) This is not how God designed the process to work. We reap what we sow.
xiii) If we sow evil deeds and acts we are supposed to reap the same.
xiv) I have said to a number of people in jail (who have acknowledged their guilt),
xv) “If you are sincere about Christianity you will pay for what you have done.”
xvi) Do no ask how you can get out or how you can beat the system.
xvii) You have done what was wrong and you have an obligation to do what the court decides.”
xviii) Saying this causes some to think I or others are calloused and cruel.
xix) The problem is not with us. If people are reaping a bad harvest it is because of bad seed.
xx) If people don’t want to do the time they shouldn’t commit the crime.
4) IN THINKING ABOUT GOVERNMENT WE FIND THAT IT HAS ANOTHER RESPONSIBILITY.
5) Governments are to curb and hopefully prevent private vengeance.
i) If people are somehow injured by a criminal those who are hurt are entitled to justice.
ii) If justice is not served some will seek personal and private vengeance.
iii) If governments do their job there is no need for private vengeance.
iv) This country had a kind of personal and vigilante justice for a while in the old west.
v) However, that was not a very stable situation.
vi) With the passage of time this problem was fixed.
vii) When governments do the jobs authorized by God there is peace, safety, and harmony.
6) IN ORDER FOR A GOVERNMENT TO DO ITS JOB PROPERLY IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM SEVERAL THINGS ARE REQUIRED.
a) First, there must be punishment without pity.
b) Listen to Deut. 7:16.
c) When punishment needs to be given it needs to be given.
d) If a man or a woman deserves capital punishment that punishment must be inflicted.
e) We, however, live in a time when justice is soft peddled.
f) Though some try to call it mercy, justice is traded for an improper verdict or sentence.
g) The Hebrews were susceptible to the same trap.
h) Thus God said to them Carry out the sentence. Do not hesitate or waver on the matter”
i) Justice needed to be dispensed and it needed to be dispensed quickly.
i) Eccl. 8:11 says Solomon made an observation about justice.
ii) If punishment is not executed speedily people will not fear the law.
iii) If punishment is not carried out swiftly punishment is not a deterrent.
iv) This explains the results of the studies that say punishment doesn’t deter crime.
v) If people are not deterred by punishment it is because the wheels of justice turn too slowly.
vi) This is another problem with our judicial system.
vii) Cases (even capital punishment cases) drag out for years.
viii) People die before being prosecuted or being put to death.
ix) God’s will is for government to carry out justice in a way that is swift.
x) The clogs in our judicial also allow criminals to plea bargain crimes that should be prosecuted.
xi) People do not receive the punishment or sentence they should.
7) ANOTHER RESPONSIBILITY OF GOVERNMENT IN DEAL WITH CRIMES IS PARTIALITY.
a) Governments are to be impartial.
b) Some say America does well in this area others say we do not.
c) God’s will is clearly revealed. This principle is found way back in the Old Testament, Lev. 19:15.
8) In addition to impartiality there is yet another duty.
a) People are to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
b) This right may not always be technically followed but it is at least true in theory.
c) This right is consistent with God’s will.
d) This right is found in Moses’ Law – Deut. 17:6.
e) Before a person was punished there had to be “2-3 witnesses.”
f) The person was not pronounced guilty until sufficient evidence or proof had been offered.
9) We live in a time and a culture when laws are being rewritten.
10) The role of government is being discussed on a regular basis.
11) Society continues to debate how we should treat those who commit crimes.
12) If we are not careful we can be swept into believing what people in the world think about these matters.
13) Our view needs to be the view that God has.