Christians should support the notion of capitol punishment. The Bible supports it.

I support the death penalty. I state that at the beginning so that as I write there will be no question as to where I stand. Recently I was visiting with some friends and the conversation got onto the issue of the death penalty. These particular friends of mine were opposed to it. They felt that it was not Biblical to take the life of another person, that it was God's initiative to give life and to take it. I completely agree that God is the author of life and that it is a sin and a crime to commit an abortion, which is the killing of an unborn person. I also completely believe that murder is wrong, which is the action of an individual taking the life of another for personal vengeance or convenience. While I respect the opinion of these friends and I understand where they are coming from, I think that a few things are overlooked; therefore I must disagree with the opinion that the death penalty is unbiblical. The Bible gives numerous examples of God using people to punish and judge others for their sin. Think of the Israelites conquest of Canaan, the Lord told the Israelites to totally decimate those people groups that were in their path. In 1st Samuel 15:2-3, the prophet Samuel relates to King Saul that the Lord had said, "I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys" (NIV, emphasis added). It is quite clear that God uses people to punish others for sins, and that punishment may very well be death to the offender. In the later verses of 1st Samuel 15, the reader would see that Saul did not follow the Lord's commands but he spared the king and choice livestock. Because of Saul's disobedience the Lord rejected Saul as King of Israel. Consider the concept of "an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth" This was elaborated on by Jesus in Matthew 5:38-48. In this passage He expands the meaning of this phrase by encouraging people to not resist an evil person and to do good to their enemies. Does this passage kill my argument for capital punishment? No. This passage is pointed at individuals. God wants us as Christians to love and to set a good example for the world. Again, this principal was not instituted by God as a guideline for any single individual to follow. It was never meant to be used as a justification tool for an individual to take revenge against an offender. It is not usually a good idea for a person to independently take the law into his own hands but he should leave the business of law enforcement to those who have been instituted into that position. "An eye for an eye, tooth for tooth" has always been guideline for the government to use. From the very beginning God instituted this system as the basis for civil government and that has carried on today. This system of equal restitution was set as the standard of punishment for a governmental system to follow in response to how it should treat its criminals. It is the duty of the governing body to uphold this concept, not an individual. This principal continues today and the New Testament has not changed that at all. Jesus Christ nor anyone else in the New Testament ever contradicted this standard but they supported and upheld it. Therefore the "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" standard of punishment within a civil government still stands. The Apostle Paul gives a good description of the authority of the government in Romans 13:1-7. In that passage he states, "The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves…For he is God's servant to do you good. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer" (Romans 13:1b-2, 4 NIV). This passage shows that the government has the job of commending the good and punishing the bad. They are God's servant to uphold punishment and wrath against a criminal. Now, God said that we are to love one another and to love our enemies but why should a government show favor to the one who committed the crime by letting him go free, over the one to whom the crime was committed by rejecting that individual's right to justice? It is not the government's job to show mercy. Jesus never mentions mercy in relation to the government and nowhere does Paul state in Romans 13 that the government should be merciful to criminals. But they hold the sword to avenge wrong. Therefore if we expect the government to uphold equal justice for the victim of a robbery, and we are dissatisfied with anything less, don't we have a right to expect the same justice when it comes to murder? In Romans 13:4 Paul says that the government, "does not bear the sword for nothing". A sword is not meant to simply make the bearer look intimidating but it is meant to inflict pain and ultimately death on those who punishment is due. If someone murders another then they will be killed. That is the "eye for an eye, tooth for tooth" justice that a never changing God instituted way back in the Old Testament as a standard punishment against murder. But what about mercy? Should mercy play any role in the government's court system? Does Romans seem to say that it is their duty to make people afraid of them due to their mercilessness? No. "For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you" (Romans 13:3). If someone is being abused somehow, the government may interject and show mercy to the victim by arresting the offender and ceasing the abuse. The mercy comes into the picture as the government relates to the one who is doing right. If a person is wronged, the government will show mercy to that person by stopping the wrong and punishing the wrongdoer. That's where the mercy comes in. But in regard to the offender it is not the government's place to show mercy. They are to treat the offender as the victim was treated, if someone is murdered then the murderer should be killed.