A friend on mine on face book recently insisted that a man must be punished if possible by death if he was guilty of breaking the laws of God so I had to make this little post.
An adulterer was brought to Jesus by a group of people. They were led by some teachers and executors of the law. For her sin, she was to be stoned to death according to their law. But before then, they wanted to test Jesus.
Would Christ because of his preaching about love ask that she be set free, and thus go against the law? Or would he ask that she be put to death and thus make nonsense of his stance on love and forgiveness?
He did neither! Instead He asked that whoever was without sin should cast the first stone. One by one they began to leave. Eventually none was left.
Why? BECAUSE NOT ONE WAS WITHOUT SIN!
Why then did they think they had the right to take the life of a FELLOW SINNER on account of her sin?
With His action, Jesus wanted not to change the law but to clarify it.
The carrying out of justice on the Laws of God is done by God not man. When it is said that “the soul that sinneth shall die,” the death referred to is not physical death. Both those that live good lives according to God's will as well as and those that do not, would experience physical death. It therefore cannot be punishment for going against the Laws of God.
Taking the life of a man for sinning against the laws of God can only shorten his life on earth, and not punish him according to the law. The grace of God which permits the sinner to learn of the ways of God and make a change on his life is taken away from him by people who themselves are sinners and yet by still being alive, enjoy this grace which comes from God alone. Do they have more right to life?
The Justice of God is PERFECT and FINAL. No one can escape it. It does not depend on being caught first by his fellow man to be guilty of offending the Law. Whether done in hiding or in the open; whether seen by his fellow man or not; the one who engages in sin is GUILTY. If he has not adapted to a new life as willed by his Creator by the time he dies and leaves this world, then he shall surely DIE.
He would then not be permitted to have Eternal LIFE in Paradise. By his own choice he would have chosen DEATH. He would have chosen Damnation for Eternity.
That is why the gift of being allowed to live and learn is given to man. He is permitted to make mistakes but to learn from the mistakes; to fall but to stand up again. The grace of God is lavished on him that he may eventually become that man that is willed by The Almighty. The Grace is given to all equally.
We are permitted to make our own earthly laws which help to ensure a happy co-existence. It is important to draw these laws from the laws of God. But we must be careful how we interpret these laws, lest in trying to serve God, we might just be serving another who already has the stamp of death upon him.
