There is a worldwide trend from the Pope to your average liberal progressive that is now influencing evangelicals to deny the justice of God’s word when it comes to the death penalty.
The word of God holds life in such high esteem that when a person is convicted of 1st degree murder that person forfeits their life, but now the National Association of Evangelicals is taking a middle of the road stance that allows popular opinion greater authority than the command of the Lord.
While the argument is made that our system of justice is flawed and subject to error and not held to the biblical standard of Mosaic law that requires two witnesses to agree in testimony and then throw the first stone, that does not lower the standard set by God.
The death penalty is the standard of God for justice, showing the seriousness of such acts and the value of every life. If we believe that conviction by circumstantial evidence is unjust, that is the part of the system that must change not the punishment associated with 1st degree murder.
What the evangelical association is doing is trying to have its cake and eat it too. We cannot say on the one hand that the word of God is of absolute authority and on the other hand agree with public opinion.
Sure there is error in the system and we should root it out and correct the flaws, but the Apostle Paul warns us to fear the sword of the government and conduct ourselves well. This is because to be caught up in the system is a terrible thing; this is what should deter evil or the intent of the heart.
If the bar needs to be raised for a 1st degree murder conviction, so be it, but we should never lower the standard for justice. Jesus, Himself kept the standard high for the woman caught in adultery, He released her because the biblical standard and a legal court had not met. The death penalty was not dismissed only the kangaroo court.
The evangelical association has made a poor decision, but the world is trying to dismiss just punishment while ignoring unjust ones with ISIS.
