The Sword Can Be Just

Romans 12 tells Christians not to avenge themselves.

Romans 13 says the civil magistrate does not bear the sword in vain.

Those statements sit only a few verses apart.

That matters.

Because one of the first questions any Christian theory of criminal justice has to answer is this:

Does government have a legitimate right to use force?

The biblical answer is yes.

But that answer immediately creates another question.

If government is allowed to use force because human beings are sinful, who restrains the sinful human beings holding government power?

That tension—authority and restraint—is where biblical criminal justice begins.

PRIVATE VENGEANCE IS NOT PUBLIC JUSTICE

Start with Romans 12.

Paul tells Christians not to repay evil for evil. He commands believers, as far as possible, to live peaceably with others and not to take vengeance into their own hands.

Instead:

“Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”

That does not mean wrongdoing should never receive consequences.

Romans 13 immediately explains why.

Civil government has a different vocation from the individual Christian.

The magistrate is described as God’s servant for good.

And when someone does evil, Paul says the magistrate “does not bear the sword in vain.”

That distinction is essential.

The person who has been wronged does not receive unlimited authority to become investigator, judge, jury and executioner.

Government exists partly to remove punishment from private retaliation and place it inside a public structure of law.

That changes the question from:

“What do I want to do to the person who hurt me?”

to:

“What does justice lawfully require?”

Those are not always the same answer.

WHY THE SWORD EXISTS

We sometimes talk about government force as though force itself is the problem.

It can be.

But force can also stop evil.

Imagine someone is assaulting another person.

Talking may not stop it.

A request may not stop it.

A police officer may have to physically restrain the aggressor.

That is force.

Suppose a person repeatedly commits violent crimes and presents a serious danger to others.

Removing that person from the community involves coercion.

Arrest involves coercion.

Handcuffs involve coercion.

A jail cell involves coercion.

Criminal punishment ultimately depends upon the government possessing enough lawful power to impose consequences even when the offender does not consent.

A criminal-justice system with no coercive authority would not be much of a criminal-justice system.

Romans 13 recognizes this.

Government is not merely an advisory committee.

The magistrate bears a sword.

THE REFORMED VIEW DOES NOT FEAR THAT FACT

The Westminster Confession of Faith treats civil government as an institution ordained by God for the public good.

Chapter 23 describes the civil magistrate as possessing lawful authority to maintain justice and peace and to protect and encourage those who do good while punishing wrongdoing.

That fits naturally with Romans 13.

From a Reformed perspective, civil government is not an unfortunate institution Christians merely tolerate until something better comes along.

Government has a real vocation.

The criminal-justice system therefore has legitimate work to do.

Protect victims.

Restrain violent people.

Investigate wrongdoing.

Judge criminal conduct.

Impose lawful punishment.

Maintain public order.

Those tasks are not beneath Christianity.

In a fallen world, they are necessary.

THE SWORD EXISTS BECAUSE SIN IS REAL

This is where Calvinism gives us a particularly strong explanation.

Reformed theology takes human sin seriously.

People steal.

People assault.

People deceive.

People abuse children.

People exploit the vulnerable.

People kill.

A society that refuses to restrain evil does not become more merciful.

It frequently becomes more dangerous for the weak.

When government refuses to restrain a violent offender, someone else bears the cost.

Usually the next victim.

That means protection of the innocent is itself a moral concern.

The Westminster Larger Catechism’s treatment of the Sixth Commandment goes well beyond simply saying, “Do not murder.”

It includes duties aimed at preserving life and protecting people from violence and harm.

A Christian criminal-justice system cannot care only about the offender.

Victims bear God’s image too.

Their lives matter.

Their safety matters.

Their injuries matter.

Their right to live without predation matters.

That is one reason the sword can be just.

THE PROBLEM: THE PERSON HOLDING THE SWORD IS FALLEN TOO

But Calvinism will not allow us to stop there.

If total depravity helps explain why society needs police, courts and punishment, then total depravity also applies to the people working inside those institutions.

The police officer is fallen.

The prosecutor is fallen.

The defense lawyer is fallen.

The judge is fallen.

The prison officer is fallen.

The legislator is fallen.

The governor is fallen.

The president is fallen.

Nobody becomes morally immune to corruption because government hired them.

That distinction is crucial.

Sometimes public debate about criminal justice divides into two camps.

One says:

“Trust law enforcement. They are the good guys.”

The other says:

“Distrust law enforcement. Government power is the problem.”

A Reformed understanding should make us suspicious of both simplifications.

Police officers can perform courageous and necessary work.

Police officers can also abuse authority.

Prosecutors can protect communities from dangerous offenders.

Prosecutors can also misuse discretion.

Judges can administer justice impartially.

Judges can also become corrupt, biased or careless.

Defendants may be falsely accused.

Defendants may also be exactly as dangerous as the government says they are.

Calvinism does not allow us to divide humanity neatly into righteous institutions and sinful outsiders.

Sin crosses the courthouse door in every direction.

That is why justice needs structure.

AUTHORITY IS NOT SELF-JUSTIFYING

Romans 13 does not mean:

If government did it, it must have been just.

That conclusion would contradict much of Scripture itself.

The Bible contains rulers who abuse authority.

Judges who take bribes.

Officials who manipulate legal proceedings.

Kings who murder.

Witnesses who lie.

Religious authorities who use civil power against opponents.

The existence of lawful office does not sanctify every act committed by the officeholder.

A police officer possesses authority.

That does not make every use of force lawful.

A prosecutor possesses authority.

That does not make every prosecution just.

A judge possesses authority.

That does not make every ruling righteous.

Government authority is legitimate precisely because it comes from a source higher than government itself.

And if its authority is derived, it is accountable.

That is a deeply Reformed idea.

God grants authority.

God also judges its use.

THE IMAGE OF GOD SETS ANOTHER BOUNDARY

There is another theological principle we will return to throughout this series.

The person government confronts remains an image-bearer.

Even when guilty.

That does not mean punishment disappears.

It means punishment cannot erase personhood.

A violent offender may have to be restrained.

A murderer may deserve severe punishment.

A thief may owe restitution.

A dangerous person may need to be separated from the community.

But none of those facts turns the offender into an object.

The same theology that tells us sin is serious enough to require punishment also tells us human beings possess a dignity government did not create.

That creates a tension worth preserving:

Justice must be strong enough to confront evil.

Justice must be restrained enough not to become evil itself.

WHY PROCEDURE MATTERS

This helps explain why criminal procedure matters so much.

If government had perfect knowledge and perfectly righteous officials, we would need fewer safeguards.

But it does not.

Police can make mistakes.

Witnesses can lie.

Victims can misidentify people.

Prosecutors can become convinced too early.

Judges can misunderstand evidence.

Jurors can be biased.

Confessions can be false.

Experts can be wrong.

Government officials can become corrupt.

That is why later lessons will deal with witnesses, evidence, hearings, appeals, confrontation, false testimony and judicial review.

Those mechanisms are not merely technical obstacles standing in the way of justice.

At their best, they exist because we know the people administering justice are human.

Procedure is one way law acknowledges human fallibility.

THE CHRISTIAN IS NOT REQUIRED TO CHOOSE BETWEEN POLICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY

This is one place where modern political categories often fail.

Supporting legitimate law enforcement authority and demanding accountability from law enforcement are not opposites.

A Christian can believe:

Police are necessary.

Dangerous offenders must sometimes be restrained.

Government may lawfully use force.

Criminal conduct deserves punishment.

Victims deserve protection.

And at the same time:

Police need legal limits.

Searches require lawful authority.

Force must be justified.

Evidence must be tested.

Defendants must receive due process.

Wrongful convictions must be corrected.

Corrupt officials must be punished.

Those positions belong together.

In fact, if government authority is truly God-given, abusing that authority becomes more serious, not less.

The badge does not merely provide power.

It creates responsibility.

THE SAME PRINCIPLE APPLIES TO OFFENDERS

There is another imbalance we need to avoid.

Concern about government misconduct cannot become an excuse to minimize criminal wrongdoing.

A man who beats his wife does not become less culpable because police departments sometimes make mistakes.

A murderer does not become less dangerous because prosecutors sometimes abuse discretion.

A victim does not lose the right to justice because government power requires restraint.

Biblical justice holds several truths together at once.

The offender is morally responsible.

The victim possesses dignity.

Government has legitimate authority.

Government authority has limits.

Those ideas do not cancel one another.

They complete the picture.

ROMANS 12 AND 13 BELONG TOGETHER

Read the two chapters together and the architecture becomes clearer.

Romans 12 restrains private vengeance.

Romans 13 authorizes public justice.

The victim does not become the executioner.

The offender does not become immune from punishment.

The Christian does not have to choose between mercy and justice.

And government does not become morally autonomous merely because God has given it authority.

There is a division of responsibility.

The individual Christian is called away from vengeance.

The magistrate is given responsibility for public order and punishment.

God remains over both.

That is the basic structure.

THE SWORD CAN BE JUST

So what does Lesson 1 establish?

It does not establish that every criminal law is just.

It does not establish that every police use of force is justified.

It does not establish that every punishment government imposes is righteous.

And it does not establish that Christians must defend government officials whenever their authority is challenged.

It establishes something more basic.

Civil government possesses legitimate authority to restrain and punish wrongdoing.

The use of coercive force is therefore not inherently contrary to Christianity.

Sometimes justice requires force.

But because the people wielding force are themselves fallen, legitimate authority must operate inside moral and legal boundaries.

That is the Reformed tension.

Because people are sinful, society needs the sword.

Because the magistrate is sinful too, the sword needs a sheath.

NEXT: NOT EVERY KILLING IS MURDER

Once we establish that government may lawfully punish wrongdoing, another problem appears.

What exactly has the person done?

Suppose one person causes another person’s death.

Is that enough to tell us the crime?

Biblical law says no.

Intent matters.

Prior hostility matters.

Circumstances matter.

Accident and murder are not identical.

That brings us to Lesson 2:

NOT EVERY KILLING IS MURDER

Because before the government decides how severely to punish someone, it first has to decide what that person is actually guilty of.