Crime and Punishment: A Biblical Perspective on Justice and Restoration

Crime and punishment are concepts related to the regulation of society. Every culture imposes some form of penalty or deterrent for infringements of its rules and practices, yet the impartial government is God's ordained system to carry out any punishment after a thorough and fair trial, not by vigilantes or retaliation by the victim.

The Foundation of Law and Order

Laws bring the knowledge of sin (or departures from what is acceptable) and are intended to restrain people from breaking them by imposing penalties for there are outcomes to everything we do, good or bad. There must be clear guidelines in society and when they have been violated appropriate punishment must be consistently applied, regardless of who the offender is. Fairness or justice is essential. If there is no punishment there is no justice.

There must be a deterrent for wrong

Two Approaches to Justice

Society can approach the issue of breaking the laws in either of two ways: the emphasis of punitive justice is the punishment of the lawbreaker. In the Old Testament this was to suffer like treatment, "an eye for an eye" (Deut 19:21). Today this is outworked as a prison term, where the offender is separated from the rest of society for an extended period of time often with little or no reform of the offenders lifestyle or else a fine imposed with the money going to the state, not the victim. In contrast, restorative justice, focuses not so much on punishing the offender as on them making amends for the crime with an attempt to restore all involved: the offender, victim and all of society.

Often today very little restoration (repairing, bringing a thing back to its original state) or restitution (compensation) is given to the victims of the crime who suffer, maybe more than those who commit the crime, because they are protected by all sorts of other laws.

To prevent an escalating cycle of wrongdoing, petty crime needs to be addressed early to show the offender that going the route of crime no one wins.

Biblical Principles of Justice

The Bible advocates both forms, in serious matters where there is no possibility to restore what was taken, such as murder, the perpetrators' life was forfeited, and in other cases restorative with the penalty being to pay back four or five times the value of the offence (Ex 21:12, 22:1). This was the approach of Zacchaeus who knew what was required when he said he would pay back four-fold what he had stolen (Lk 19:8). By this system the victim is compensated, the criminal pays the penalty (hopefully with a behavioural change) and is restored to society.

Divine Justice and Accountability

God is the supreme judge and even if people are not reprimanded but seemingly get away with a crime in this life they must face up to it when standing before God, "for everyone shall be judged according to their actions" (Ps 73:3,17; 2 Cor 5:10). God is a God of justice.

God is always watching even if man isn't

Although all offenses are committed against an individual or community, they are primarily against God's way of living (Ps 51:4). The damage done to humans, who are made in the image of God, is also direct rebellion against Him for "Whatever you have done to others, you have done to me" (Mt 25:40,45). Crime is a sin of action, not of mental intent or desire. For example, coveting is not a punishable offense by society, yet by God's reckoning it is a sin that is answerable for (Mt 5:27-28). Personal responsibility needs to be taken for self-discipline to keep emotions and actions under control and for a believer our whole life should increasingly be tamed by the Holy Spirit.

Reflection and Application:

Justice requires both consistent application and clear guidelines in society
Biblical justice balances punitive measures with restoration and compensation
All crime ultimately affects God as humans are made in His image
Early intervention in minor offenses prevents escalation to more serious crimes