If somebody destroys an image bearer of God, God says that person forfeits their right

to human life.

The person who raises his hand to slay a human being is making an assault against God.

Whoever sheds man's blood by man shall his blood be shed. This is in the imperative. This is a command. That person must be killed.

And so God doesn't just give the magistrate now the right of capital punishment. He gives

the magistrate the duty of capital punishment, and that's what causes so much controversy.

Now, I remember reading an article complaining about Christians constantly protesting against abortion laws in the

United States, and he said he would not take the Christian communities protest against abortion

seriously until these same people would mobilize against capital punishment.

And when he said that, he revealed that he didn't understand

the biblical rationale, which is the same in both cases. What is behind the churches protest

against abortion and what is behind the historic Christian community's backing of capital punishment is the concept of the

sanctity of life. And people who oppose capital punishment oppose it appealing to the same

principle. The principle is that every human life is sacred, and if a person chooses to murder another human

being, we're just adding to the desacralization of life by executing the murderer.

Then the point is that everybody's life is sacred, even the murderer.

And so we have to do something besides retaliate with revenge or so on.

But the point of the original institution of capital punishment is not for deterrence. It's

not even for vengeance. It's to maintain God's directive that every human life is sacred. Now, notice what he says.

Whoever sheds man's blood by man, his blood shall be shed. For in the image of God, he made me.

The rationale that God gives for requiring the death of the murderer is that in a very real sense the person who raises

his hand to slay a human being is making an assault not just on a fellow human but is making

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