I believe Lindsay Clancy, if found guilty, should receive the death penalty for the murder of each of her children. I understand that capital punishment is not an option in Massachusetts. I also understand all the complexities of the very real suffering that comes with postpartum depression and other forms of psychosis. Still, God’s design for an ordered society is capital punishment for capital crime, and it offers no “get out of jail free” card.
I have argued elsewhere, on the basis of Genesis 4 and 9, that the civil magistrate bears a divine obligation to punish murder with death. If she is guilty of deliberately taking innocent human life, the lex talionis principle requires that her blood be shed.1
I also hope she goes to heaven.
On the surface, that may seem contradictory. But, in fact, it is not. The believer’s desire for justice in the face of heinous crime, on the one hand, and his desire for the criminal’s eternal salvation, on the other, rather sweetly cohere. Let me explain.
The Blood of Abel
Cain murders Abel. When God confronts Cain, he says, “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground” (Gen 4:10).
This is a remarkable way of speaking about murder. Abel is dead. He cannot testify before a human court. But his blood testifies. Innocent human blood has been unjustly shed, and that blood cries out for justice. Initially, God announces his sentence on Cain: exile from his holy presence. Cain protests that the punishment is too harsh, for he knows the land of Nod—with its bloodthirsty men—will be the place of his demise. But God assures Cain that he will be protected, for “if anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold” (v. 15; cf. Gen 9:6). I have argued elsewhere that this is the origin of state power, with its special focus on protecting life through the threat of lex talionis justice.
This is the kind of justice the murder of the Clancy children deserves.
And Yet I Hope She Is Saved
But now I want to say something that may sound strange in light of lex talionis justice.
I hope Lindsay Clancy enjoys the freedom of heavenly life forever.
More than that, I pray she comes to understand the enormity of what she has done. I hope she repents. I hope she confesses her sins without excuse. I hope she casts herself wholly on Jesus Christ and discovers that there is forgiveness even for murderers.
And if the civil magistrate executes her (which it will not, even though it should), I hope she goes from the execution chamber into the presence of Christ.
How can I possibly say both things?
Because there is another kind of blood that speaks. The author of the letter to the Hebrews tells us that Christians have come “to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Heb 12:24). Magnificent! Abel’s blood spoke a good word, a cry for justice. But—as good as that word is—there is an even better word. This is the word of mercy spoken by the blood of Christ.
These two words are not contradictory.
Two Kingdoms
The civil magistrate must hear the cry of Abel’s blood. God has entrusted the magistrate with the sword for the administration of temporal justice.
The church, however, has been entrusted with something else. She has been entrusted with the keys of the kingdom and the sword of the Spirit. And so the state may say to a murderer, “You have shed innocent blood. Justice requires your death.” At the same time, the church may say to the very same murderer, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Believe the gospel and receive eternal life.” Indeed, the same woman may stand condemned before the civil magistrate and justified before God.
The gospel does not require the magistrate to put away his sword. And the magistrate’s sword cannot close the gates of heaven to a repentant sinner. The state cannot forgive Lindsay Clancy’s sins. It was never commissioned to do so. And the church cannot remit the temporal penalty owed to civil justice merely because a murderer has repented. It was never given that authority. Each has its own divinely appointed task.
The Christian can therefore stand beside a condemned murderer on the day of his execution and say two things without contradiction:
“The magistrate is acting justly.”
and
“Today you will be with Christ.”
So, Do You Believe in Two Kingdoms?
So let me conclude with some questions for the reader.
Do you believe that Lindsay Clancy should receive the punishment that God has appointed for the unjust shedding of human blood?
I do.
And do you nevertheless hope that Lindsay Clancy repents of her sins, believes in Jesus Christ, receives the complete forgiveness purchased by his blood, and goes to heaven?
I do.
And if you do too, you already recognize that God’s administration of civil justice and God’s administration of saving grace are distinct. You recognize that the magistrate possesses one kind of authority and the church another. You recognize that the sword and the keys are not interchangeable. You recognize that a person may simultaneously be guilty before one tribunal and righteous before another—not because either judgment is false but because the two judgments concern different relations and are administered by different authorities.
If you believe all of that, then perhaps the question is not whether you believe in two kingdoms.
Perhaps the question is whether you have realized that you do.
Editor’s Note: At the time of the writing of this piece, the jury has not yet reached the verdict and might not reach a verdict
Note
- Lex talionis is Latin shorthand for the biblical idea of “an eye for an eye,” or retributive justice.
©Jim Cassidy. All Rights Reserved.
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Jim Cassidy
Jim is the pastor of South Austin Presbyterian Church (OPC). He previously served in OPC pastorates in Pennsylvania (Johnstown) and New Jersey (Ringoes). In his ministry he has been and continues to be committed to proclaiming Christ and Him crucified from all the Scriptures. Jim earned an MDiv at Westminster Theological Seminary as well as a PhD in Historical and Theological Studies, concentrating in systematic theology and writing on the theology of Karl Barth.
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