Theonomy Primer, pt. 5

Crime and Punishment.

All transgression's of God's commandments are sins, but not all of them are crimes--at least in the sense of them being infractions against the social order punishable by the civil authorities. But when a crime is committed, God, being the One who defines both sin and crime, is the only legitimate source of authority for how such crimes are to be punished. His administration of justice in the civil realm involves two overarching concepts: equity and restoration. I want to look at these generalities and then in the next post or two get into the nitty-gritty.

God's judgements are perfectly just and equitable. The punishment fits the crime, every time. Unlike sinful man who more often than not punishes far in excess of the crime committed, God doles out temporal punishment that gives the criminal his due. The principle is lex talionis, "an eye for an eye."

I need to digress here to deal with a common misconception (with which our Lord also dealt on the Sermon on the Mount). "Eye for an eye" in the Old Testament does not refer to personal vengeance. That was the mistake of the Pharisees of Jesus' day: applying the commandment as a license to get back at one's enemy. The commandment is actually a restraint on the State. It prevents punishment in excess of the transgression (think of the Moslems cutting off the hands of thieves).

The lex talionis metes out fair and equitable justice to the criminal; no more and no less. The criminal reaps exactly what he sows, and no more. Every transgression receives a just punishment. God is a just Judge and men are responsible to image His justice in the civil realm.

The next principle is that of restoration. God's civil punishments are always designed to restore the victim to his position before the crime. What he has lost is repaid. Thieves must always make restitution to the victim for both the stolen item and all the other losses incurred by its theft. Injured parties are always made as whole as possible. In the case of capital crimes, the ultimate victim of those crimes, God, demands the ultimate payment for those transgressions. God loves and is concerned with the victims of the world, and the civil magistrate is to love them as well. Notice that He is not concerned primarily with any injury or debt to "society." Concern for the actual victim is paramount.

These two principles of justice are evident in all the penal sanctions of the Law. Next posting, I'll begin to tackle the examples given which most often trouble Christians and non-Christians alike.