Paul Lytle: Speeches and sermons

Paul Lytle
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Is God a Murderer?

Essays by Paul Lytle appear in:

June 6, 2008
for MySpace

So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them."

-Genesis 6:7

Let's be honest here for a second. If you read the Bible through and are honest with yourself, there are going to be parts that make you a little uncomfortable. Sometimes, our discomfort is because the Bible has brought our attention to our own sin and the ways we are not aligned with God. But sometimes the things that God does seem a little strange.

I felt this way many times in reading the Old Testament when God orders the deaths of people. Like, a lot. The Scripture I read earlier is from the account of the Flood, but there are many cases when God orders the Israelites to go make war on other nations. There is the time when God killed the first born in Egypt. Sometimes, God just strikes people dead, like in the New Testament, with Ananias and his wife from Acts 5. Which was pretty cool, but may be a little disturbing for those who have been raised on the idea that God is a warm and fluffy God who hugs people a lot.

I've read many different naturalist sources that claim that God is actually sinning in these cases, that the Bible describes a God who is, basically, a murderer. They will claim that God's "victims" here didn't do anything wrong and shouldn't be killed as they were. When I first read these parts, I cringed a little, because that's exactly what seems to be going on, right?

Well, that's not what's going on at all, and it is important to understand why so we do not ascribe sin to a sinless God.

Imagine, if you will, a prison. We're going to be dealing with a group of people who are on death row. And they all deserve to be there according to the laws of the state. We can have a discussion about whether the death penalty is just or not at another day, but it's enough just to say here that everyone is there lawfully. They all committed the crimes for which they were sentenced. There are four men there. The first exhausts his appeals, and is executed very quickly. Say within a couple of year of his crimes. The second likewise is executed, but it takes several decades. The third waits on death row for a while, but he was already rather old when he came in, and he dies of natural causes. The fourth is pardoned by the governor.

Now, which of these people left death row unlawfully? None of them, of course! According to the laws of the state, they all deserved to be there. The last two escaped execution, but one because he died naturally and the second because he, in a lawful way, was pardoned. No one came to an unlawful end.

You can disagree with the death penalty if you wish. Truth is, we have unjust laws on the books. Maybe the death penalty is a good one, and maybe not. But now let's turn to God's perfect law. While our human laws can be flawed, God's cannot. Psalm 19:7, amongst other passages, tells us that explicitly: "The law of the LORD is perfect." A person convicted under that Law is justly convicted and perfectly convicted.

So who is guilty? In short, everyone is. Paul reminds us in Romans, quoting from the Psalms again, that "None is righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10). Well, that seems simple enough. But surely there are degrees of guilt. I may not be righteous, but I'm not a complete sinner, right?

Well, James then tells us this: "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it" (James 2:10). Ouch! You see, the Law is not a series of individual laws, but a combined whole. Just like it really doesn't matter which part of a priceless vase you break, it doesn't matter which part of the Law you break. If you break it, you bought it.

So we're all guilty, and we're all guilty completely. Finally, Paul tells us the rightful punishment we face under the law. Death. "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).

We have all sinned, and we have all been judged completely guilty, and we all deserve death. It is just that we die. We are like those people on death row. So are the people in the Old Testament.

God brought about the deaths of some of them sooner than others. Some people lived until old age took them. But none of them died unjustly. Like the first three men on death row, no one got out unlawfully. Some died young, some later, and some old, but death came rightfully and justly. It was all done according to this perfect and flawless Law. And God, the only rightful judge, has made the determination. It is not murder for an executioner to do his job, and it is not murder for God to perfectly judge someone guilty and bring about that person's sentence. A lot of the people who make this claim against God cite the commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." But that's really a mistranslation in the King James Version, and versions now correct it to read properly, "You shall not murder." Killing in a manner prescribed by a perfect Law is not murder at all, but justice, and we deserve it.

Now, you may be a little freaked out right now, because we have seen that every single one of us deserve death. Isn't there anyone who might get out of this? Well, as I have said, we all deserve to be on death row. But remember our fourth man, the one who was pardoned. That can happen with us too. It's not that we are sinless, because we're not, but we can ask for the Governor's favor.

You see, in His death on the Cross, Jesus Christ took on the punishment for all of us sinners. He died in our place. That has already happened. What that means for us on death row is that we can confess our sin, admit our guilt, and ask God, our governor, to accept the sacrifice of Christ in the place of our own deaths. In love, He will accept us if we truly repent of our old sinful ways. We will be freed from the prison and accepted into the Father's house.

We'll still die on this earth, but our spirits will live forever with the Lord. If you have not done so, I urge you to ask for this pardon. Confess to Him and ask that the sacrifice of Christ be used in our place. If you need guidance, seek out a pastor in your area or write to me, and I will help if I can. But seek first the help of the Father, who will give wisdom freely to those who ask in faith (James 1:5-6).