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Exchanged Glory III: Wise as Serpents
God knows that there will be times when we feel that we aren’t receiving justice, but He is very clear about how we should handle those times.
In the next chapter, we will move on to doing what Psalm 1 tells us to do: we will meditate on Old Testament punishments for sexual crimes. Before we do, however, please bear with me while we consider a few extremely important points about the folly of taking the law into our own hands. If we make a mistake in this area, we could do serious damage.
Some people who learn about the Old Testament civil punishments will want to use them as an excuse to hurt those they think deserve punishment. They will be tempted to become vigilantes, penalizing those who would have been criminals in ancient Israel. It is important to take a strong stand against this.
A Christian who violates the law of his land in order to punish someone for their sins is a criminal himself. He deserves to be arrested, convicted, and punished. It is true that under Old Testament law many sins were crimes with stiff penalties, but private citizens have no right to carry out those judgments. As Romans 13 teaches, only civil rulers carry the sword for the good of all – and even they are limited to only use their authority in a just way.
God knows that there will be times when we feel that we aren’t receiving justice, but He is very clear about how we should handle those times.
Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Therefore, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (emphasis added)
If we have been truly wronged, God will take up our case and bring vengeance. He may do this through civil authorities, but if they can’t or won’t help, He will bring it in some other way. While we are waiting on Him, He has told us what we should do; we should love our enemies. As we seek their good, He will either bring them to repentance or to judgment. Jesus made our part of the process clear:
"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. …”
(Matthew 5:43-44, The Message)
A second danger in meditating on Old Testament civil punishments is that some may want to punish themselves. For example, a man who has committed adultery may feel guilty enough to kill himself. (The Old Testament law called for adulterers to be put to death.)
Doing so would be murder. We never have the right to harm a human life, even our own. The only people allowed to carry out such punishments are the proper government authorities.
Most people aren’t eager to hurt themselves, so I don’t expect that many will be seriously tempted toward such actions, but some may carry enough guilt to, at the very least, internally flog themselves for years. Instead, when civil leaders don’t punish us, we should see their choice as a gift of God’s mercy! He has given us an opportunity to continue in freedom like He did David:
…You murdered Uriah the Hittite, then took his wife as your wife. Worse, you killed him with an Ammonite sword! … Then David confessed to Nathan, "I've sinned against GOD." Nathan pronounced, "Yes, but that's not the last word. GOD forgives your sin. You won't die for it.”[57]
(2 Samuel 12:9; 13, The Message)
God didn’t expect David to kill himself for his sins of adultery and murder, both of which called for the death penalty under the Law. He didn’t even expect David to suffer guilt for the rest of his life. He had forgiven David’s sin, and He wanted David to receive mercy with gratitude.
He wants us to do the same. He sent His Son to pay the penalty that frees us from any requirement for self-reproach. There is no burden of guilt left for us to carry.
Jesus showed us what we should do when we have committed a crime that the legal authorities don’t punish.
The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, "Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?" They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him.
Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone." Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt.
Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. "Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?"
"No one, Master."
"Neither do I," said Jesus. "Go on your way. From now on, don't sin."
(John 8:3-11, The Message)
The woman had earned the death penalty, but Jesus didn’t tell her to punish herself. Instead, he offered her forgiveness and told her to move on to a better life.
It might appear that this story totally rules out all justice. That would be the case if Jesus was saying that only those who have no sin have a right to “go first: Throw a stone.” Which of us can meet up to that standard? If we had to be perfect in order to be a civil authority, no one would be able to push a button for a lethal injection, put cuffs on a thief, or lock a jail cell. Justice would become impossible.
Instead, I believe Jesus is saying that only those who are without sin in the prosecution of a crime have a right to bring punishment. If we look at the situation with the woman caught in adultery, we see that though she was caught in the very act, only she was brought before Jesus. The law called for both the man and the woman to be executed (Lev 20:10). Where was the man who was caught in the very act with her? The scribes and the Pharisees had sinned in their handling of the case, and Jesus exposed the mistrial!
The words of mercy Jesus spoke are incredible. He says in effect, “God has used the corruption of the scribes and Pharisees to give you another chance. Don’t feel condemned; go and sin no more.”
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