Tyler Robinson, Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin, and Decarlos Brown Jr., who is accused of killing Iryna Zarutska, are facing the possibility of death. In Robinson’s case, death may come at the end of a barrel of a gun.
Few states in the Union still allow execution by firing squad, and this grim prospect has caused much discussion and consternation among American Christians. How can those who order their lives around allegiance to Christ, who taught us to love our enemies, support the death penalty?
Christ did indeed command us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, so despite the poor taste in our mouths, we should all pick up our cross and pray for Robinson. But this does not mean that we should not execute him.
The Christian faith is one of dynamic paradox, which would be much easier to dismiss if paradoxes like the following were not true:
- The living God is one being in three distinct persons.
- God’s very nature is a unity in multiplicity.
- The central claim of our faith is that God the Son became man.
- The spiritual and the physical are not at odds but united perfectly in one divine Savior.
As G. K. Chesterton said, “Christianity got over the difficulty of combining furious opposites, by keeping them both, and keeping them both furious.”
Here is yet another paradox: Christians may kill and do no sin, if they love the one they are killing. This is the sort of statement that, if tweeted, would likely get you fired, so greater clarity is needed.
To love someone is to will their good. Christians know that the ultimate good is friendship with God through faith and repentance. Christian love requires that we want every person to find life and live it to the fullest in relationship with the living God. This is why Jesus came: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
Sin, by contrast, is a deviation from the will of God. Without forgiveness, sin destroys our friendship with God. Therefore, to love sinners is to do what we can to bring them out of their sin.
Taken together, this means that if my neighbor hurts innocent people, love compels me to stop him. I will pray for him and preach to him. I will invite him to the church potluck. But if I preach my heart out and he shuts his ears, I am still obligated to try to restrain him. If I do not, he will harm his victims, corrupt the common good, and destroy himself. It is not good for him to murder. It is not good for Robinson to take an innocent life. Sin suppresses his soul. And though God alone looks upon the heart, it is likely that such twisted actions flow from a twisted heart.
If this reasoning strikes you as wrongheaded, you probably hold an unexamined belief that death is worse than sin. It is not. Death sends no one to hell. Unrepentant sin does.
Paul writes in Romans that “the one in authority is God’s servant for your good” (Romans 13:4). The biblical witness is that a righteous king suppresses sin in the land for the common good of his people, and for the good of the sinners themselves. Josiah tore down the Asherah poles not only for Israel’s sake but also for those ensnared in idolatry. This same logic undergirds just war theory: when no other recourse exists, the sin of the Nazis had to be stopped for the good of humanity, for the Jewish people, and even for the Nazis themselves.
The death penalty is just war in microcosm. Men like Robinson have declared war on society and the common good, and it is the state’s role to suppress their sin by any means necessary for their own sake as well as for others.
Martin Luther explained that when authorities punish evildoers, it should be understood as God’s work and command rather than the action of men themselves; those who carry out justice act as God’s instruments. At the same time, he cautioned that authorities must not act from self-interest. Their role is not to seek personal revenge or gain, but to serve the welfare of the people and uphold justice responsibly.
Christians as individuals may turn the other cheek, but Christian magistrates and soldiers have a duty to wield the sword for the sake of others.
So, say a prayer today for the condemned, that the prospect of meeting God soon might bring them to repentance. And pray that God would give you grace and wisdom enough to love your enemies, whatever form that love may take.
Elijah Rex Newcomb holds a Master of Divinity from Beeson Divinity School at Samford University. He lives in Birmingham with his wife, works in youth ministry, and is pursuing opportunities at the intersection of faith, law, and public policy.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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