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Life is war. That's not all it is. But it is
always that. Our weakness in prayer is owing largely to our neglect of this
truth. Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the
church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief. – John Piper
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VIDEO SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWdkiZHcANk&t=9s
Is It
Wrong to Want Mercy for a Criminal Who Deserves Capital Punishment?
·
Resource
with
John Piper
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Topic: Public Justice
The following is an
edited transcript of the audio.
Is it wrong to want
mercy for a criminal who deserves capital punishment? If not, wouldn't that be
the ideal attitude to have in general?
It's right to
love mercy. The Bible says so. "Hear, O man; what does the Lord require of
you but to love mercy, do justice, and walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8). And isn't it interesting that "love
mercy" and "do justice" come back to back?
We have a
situation in the Twin Cities right now where a young man lured a girl to his
house through Craigslist, ostensibly wanting her as a babysitter, and then
killed her. The jury two days ago found him guilty of first degree murder and
manslaughter. There's a picture of her parents on the front page of the paper.
And every time I see that I wonder, "What do you do?"
And then
there was a video on a blog the other day of the wife of the pastor who was
shot dead in his pulpit, extending forgiveness to the murderer who is in jail.
The parents
of this young woman said they were glad at the conviction, and I didn't fault
them for that. That doesn't mean they want this fellow to go to hell. All
things considered, they lost their daughter, wrong was done, sin was committed
and law was broken; and it is right, in so many ways, that this killer be
punished.
To want mercy
for him is good! But that mercy would take form in a social setting where you
don't release criminals on the world. It would take the form of wanting him to
be forgiven, praying for him, perhaps even visiting him in prison and offering
to forgive him. But that forgiveness does not say, "I think it would be a
good idea if he got let go."
He will be
let go in heaven, but here society won't work. Romans 13 sets it up so
that the government carries the sword to reward the good and to punish the
evil, because society won't work if governments don't carry swords, prisons,
fines, death penalties.
So yes, it's
right to want mercy for criminals—to forgive them, not to hold grudges against
them—and to want them to be punished.
Love mercy,
do justice.
John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher
of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33
years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He is author of more than 50 books, including Desiring
God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist and most
recently Why I
Love the Apostle Paul: 30 Reasons.
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Where the Bible is esteemed as the inspired and
inerrant Word of God, preaching can flourish. But where the Bible is treated
merely as a record of valuable religious insight, preaching dies. - John Piper
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1323668]
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Christians care about all suffering,
especially eternal suffering. Christians care about all injustice, especially
injustice against God. – John Piper
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/425660602280647888/]
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OTHER LINKS:
The Conversion and Execution
of Tokichi Ishii
March 29, 2016
March 29, 2016
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