Cancer Blog #29
By Brian Zimmerman
Begun on July 31, 2021
Email: dyingman1@yahoo.com
My Dying Words
Entry #29
March 19, 2022
[Deuteronomy 32:39 NASB95] 39 ‘See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.
[Leviticus 24:17 NASB95] 17 ‘If a man takes the life of any human being, he shall surely be put to death.
Life and death are in God’s hands, but death may also be mediated through human hands. Death can be brought about by any human, even taking our own life. But, God forbids taking of the life of another human being, even our own (covered as self-murder by the 6th commandment (“Thou shalt not murder”)), unless He allows it. He permits a human to cause the death of another person only in certain circumstances, such as self-defense or the government in war or by execution. All this seems obvious, so why discuss it? Because it’s not so clear any more in our culture where the right to death comes from. The vast majority of Christians (now and historically) believe abortion to be the death of an unborn child, yet our government permits it (indeed, encourages it). It can do so legally (if you believe the constitution somehow permits abortion), but ought it? That is, does it have not only the legal authority, but the moral right to do so?
The passage from Deuteronomy above supplies our answer. Only the Maker of us all, the ultimate giver of life, has the right to take our life. And, in His word He delineates clearly the conditions that govern our right to cause death. It is His prerogative to decide how and under what conditions death should occur. In war, the bullet or bomb takes one and leaves another, according to His ultimate plan. We may engage in self-defense or in defense of our homes and so kill another, but not even then in all situations (see Exodus 22:2-3). Paul, in Romans 13: 4, makes clear that if we do wrong, we should remember that God has granted a civil ruler (even a Roman one) the sword, as the ruler is a servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrong doer. That is the ruler’s both right and duty.
So, God is the ultimate authority of death, the only one who can give life, and, therefore, the only one who has the right to take it. He links the two in the Deuteronomy passage above. If you can’t create life (as none of us can ex nihilo (from nothing)), we don’t have the right to decide who can take it. Even women who give birth to another human being, though earning the right to be honored by their children, cannot claim to be the ultimate source of life, and so are denied the right to take the life of their unborn child. That child’s life ultimately comes from God, and only He has the right to take it. The government may grant a so-called right to abortion legally, but they do not have the authority morally. It’s God’s authority alone.
Execution is another greatly debated right to death, but our culture seems bent on standing God’s directives on their head: the right to take a baby’s life it grants, but not the right to take a murderer’s. The right to take an innocent life of a child, but not the right to take the life of someone who took an innocent life. Even imprisoning such a person for a life time takes years of life that can never be repaid, no matter how big the check written for reparation is made. A confused view to my mind, but not surprising in our very confused culture. Justice is thus confounded and overrun by social justice, the two being not, or only loosely, connected.
At our final judgment, though, the justice of God will prevail. A second death, more to be feared than the first one that we experience in his life, will be meted out, as the Lord of life and death will pronounce a sentence of death on those who refused to kneel to Him in this life, a sentence that will never be reversed or mitigated. Death will then be truly final and irrevocable, in a way it is not now. The Lord will give out life eternal or death eternal. We need not fear that an unjust death in this life will go unaddressed. We do not need to seek revenge or hold back forgiveness. Final justice will be done, and there will be no reprieve, no loophole permitting escape from that final death sentence.
Next: Death and modern medicine