What can the living do?  One thing the Bible does say is that we are to love our enemies.  This does not mean we must have good feelings toward them, or to plead for a non-capital punishment.  It does mean that we can preach the gospel to them, and pray that God will grant them repentance. 

Erika Kirk said in her speech at the Charlie Kirk Memorial Service about her husband’s assassin, “I forgive him.”  Her comment was picked up by almost all the major news media networks. As I watched the service, and as I was gazing intently at the television, I just knew that remark was coming.  I know evangelical circles fairly well.  In such circles, this response has become a sign of super-spirituality. There may be no higher obstacle to overcome than the attitude toward someone who has murdered a person you love very much. And this is what I call the modern imprimatur response.

I’ve heard this all of my life in cases where Christian family members have had to endure such a tragedy in their families.  I’ve always been confused for several reasons.  God does not forgive men apart from repentance, and such a statement gives the impression that we can require more of man than God does of Himself.  This is wrong.  Let me make my case.

First of all, forgiveness in the Bible is only to be granted to a brother or sister in Christ after there is evidence of repentance.  “Be on your guard!  If your brother or sister sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.  And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him (Luke 17:3-4).”  If this is true of a brother or sister in Christ, how much more of an unbeliever.  Without repentance, there can be no forgiveness.

When we pray in the Lord’s prayer that God forgive us as we forgive our debtors, Christ, no doubt, is assuming repentance on the part of those who have sinned against us. Even so as we repent before God of the sins we have committed against Him.

In the parable of the unforgiving servant, a man was forgiven by a master because he “prostrated himself before him, saying “Have patience with me and I will repay you everything (Mt. 18:26).”  He was forgiven of all of his debt because the victim always (apart from a capital offense) has the privilege and joy of granting forgiveness. Repentance moved the heart of the creditor to forgiveness. Jesus was not denying the propriety of restitution, but he was showing that if we have received forgiveness, then our hearts should be open toward treating others as we have been treated (as the forgiven man in the parable did not do).

Secondly, forgiveness is the remission (cancellation) of the penalty of sin demanded by the law of God. Jesus died on the cross for our sins.  God, by grace, allows a substitute for us, and that is the good news.  However, the penalty had to be paid. Without the payment of the penalty there is no forgiveness.  Let us not disparage the death of Christ by separating the act of forgiveness from the necessity of payment of the penalty demanded by the law of God.

The penalty for murder demanded by the Holy Scriptures is death itself.  “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man (Genesis 9:6).”  There is no exception to this mandate.  Even repentance itself does not absolve a murderer from suffering the death penalty.  A man may repent and enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but the penalty due him on earth still must be paid according to the Scriptures.

Some argue that the Old Testament rules have changed.  Jesus said on the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” However, a careful reading of the text demonstrates that he was referring to those who had a part in the actual execution on Calvary on that day.   “But Jesus was saying, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.’  And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves (Luke 23:34).”  Jesus asked the Father to forgive those competing for his garments (and those who nailed him to the cross) who did not really understand who was being crucified, as did the unrepentant murderers who sentenced Him to death.

Another passage often appealed to are the words of Stephen at his death where he says “Lord, do not hold this sin against them (Acts 7:60).”  Perhaps, Stephen too thought that many of those who threw stones did not know what they were doing.  The young man Saul was present and raised no objection.  He later after his own conversion was indeed forgiven of any part he played in the death of Stephen.  Stephen’s prayer was answered in part.  Regardless, the point to notice is that Stephen forgave no one.  He never said, “I forgive them.”

Why is it so necessary in modern evangelicalism to say, “I forgive you” apart from repentance?  I think, at least in the case of murder, the tragedy is so horrendous and the emotions are so strong, that those who hurt need some type of closure or relief from their own anger and rage. There is too much time between the murderous act and the execution of the death penalty for the criminal.  God’s people hurt and they need to see justice quickly.  Granting forgiveness (which is really beyond their purview) is what they have been taught to do in order to relieve themselves of their spiritual struggles. Maybe too it says something about the modern evangelical view of the holiness of God.

One last remark. The execution of death for murderers saves lives.  The Bible clearly teaches that the fear of committing murder comes from watching a man being executed for murder. The death penalty will save many lives. It will save thousands of young girls from both rape and murder.  It will not eliminate them, but it will reduce the number. “Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will not act presumptuously again (Deut. 17:13).”  “Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so the rest may also be fearful of sinning (1 Tim 5:20).”

My Grandfather taught me the value of capital punishment, so as a respectful Grandson, it must be true!   He once told me that he personally witnessed the last public hanging in West Virginia in 1897 in Jackson County, in a small town called Ripley.  Mr. John Morgan had murdered Chloe Green and her three children.  There were about 5,000 people present to witness the hanging.  Mr. Morgan said goodbye to the crowd before his life was ended.  My grandfather never forgot it.  He taught me indeed that the public gallows save many lives from potential murderers.  It puts the fear of God in man.

What can the living do?  One thing the Bible does say is that we are to love our enemies.  This does not mean we must have good feelings toward them, or to plead for a non-capital punishment.  It does mean that we can preach the gospel to them, and pray that God will grant them repentance.

The Church should be loud and clear about this issue.  It’s about mercy for those who are still living.  It’s not the mixture of politics and religion.  It’s not Christian Nationalism, or maybe it is?  It’s the application of the word of God to all of life.

May God bless Erika Kirk.  She is a great Christian woman.  Just because she is confused about the nature of forgiveness, does not in any way nullify my admiration for her.

Larry E. Ball is a retired minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is now a CPA. He lives in Kingsport, Tenn.