The use of deadly force by law enforcement officers
So there he sat… next to his wife and 3 children, as the pastor preached about love. The sermon was one highlighting Christ’s words “They will know us by our love”. While he sat there leaning forward with an intense look, nodding his head… his mind and heart were numb…his anxiety and lack of sleep only adding to the moment. In his mind he thinks “That sounds great… and I believe it… but I just killed a suspect Thursday night. I tried everything, but ended up shooting her 3 times. I watched her family show up on the scene and grieve and curse all of us. Love is about the last thing that anyone felt from me that night. I JUST KILLED A PERSON!”
God is just. He loves justice. In fact, He guarantees justice for every person. That is why your forgiveness demanded a alternate way for your sin to be punished. God’s justice and righteousness is why Christ died on the Cross. He was justly punished for your sin.
God has wisely and kindly given methods of justice on earth as well. He does this through government. In America, this eventually means… you as an officer of the law.
In the past 2 years, I have spoken with several Christian officers who have been forced to do something they hated… they killed a man in an on-duty shooting. In talking with these officers, I learned of the many challenges an officer, an officer’s family and the department face when a shooting occurs. I found myself deeply respecting and empathizing with them in this very challenging situation that they have entered… and entered on my and my fellow citizens behalf. Yet there was one tragic thing that stood out among most of the accounts. In most of these cases, these Christian officers had never been shown God’s instructions regarding the role of deadly force in the Scriptures. This had often led them to either question their own faith or, even worse, to question the legitimacy of the Gospel to be truly sufficient for all of life… namely the “real world” of law enforcement.
So, in just a few sentences, I hope to provide some help to you as an officer of the law regarding the use of deadly force. No passage in the New Testament will be more helpful to this than Romans 13. Here are several brief principles I would challenge you to consider as a Christian officer, so that you might walk intelligently, confidently and shine like the sun on the beat-while armed to the teeth.
Romans 13:4 … for it [the government] is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.
…for it is a minister of God
God has appointed you as an officer. In the way our legal and judicial system has been designed, officers are part of the judicial/ legal/ enforcement system. According to this text then, as an officer, you are a “minister of God”. God has placed you in that position and desires and expects you to carry out your specific role as appointed by headquarters. Your role is part of God providing justice to the land.
…But if you do what is evil, be afraid
Evil should fear you. Criminals should be afraid. Who you are and what you do should cause fear in those who perform crime. Fear is not a light word. It is a word that demonstrates true danger. God has designed certain people, when rightly commissioned, to hurt and damage other people in the pursuit of justice. And, while the law abiding people should embrace officers, it is completely proper for officers to pose a danger and threat to those who are criminals.
…for it does not bear the sword for nothing
Government bears the sword. The sword is not a disciplining tool. It is a killing tool. And God commissions government to have the killing tool and to use the killing tool when appropriate. Our enforcement/ judicial system uses it in two ways. It entrusts the killing tool to officers and to executioners. They use the tools in different ways and at different times. Neither can assume the role of the other. As an officer, you have received the killing tool from the government, who received it from God. God expects you to use the killing tool as He has instructed you.
…an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil
God uses government to avenge and bring wrath. As a part of that system, it is rebelling against God if you refuse to fulfill the role to which He has appointed you. As an officer in America, you have a very defined role to play in the government’s obligation to avenge and bring wrath. There are situations when kindness and gentleness are not what God desires of you. You have to own it or leave it. The perils of embracing this deadly and avenging role are numerous and it is one that a person should take with a sense of gravity and reluctance… as the use of deadly force should never give us joy, stem from anger, brutality or pride.
My hope is that this brief study will help some Christian officers understand God’s perspective of them in their very unique and special role. When the Lord calls upon officers to use deadly force, they should embrace this role, knowing it is the desire of their God and be ready to explain that to other members of the force. Why? Because it is part of the Gospel. God has been kind to all men, and provided them the justice and protection found in the government. It is His kindness. “They will know us by our love”. Because of this love, Christian officers are people who love other people… and when necessary, because God has asked them to…they glorify God with the use of a Glock.
