If you break one of the Ten Commandments, does it mean that you sinned? Of course, the consequence, I believe, is death, correct? However, if you confess what you did and repented, then God forgives you and you don’t have to die, correct?<\/p>\n\t
Each of the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament carried a death penalty in certain circumstances. Premeditated murder carried the death penalty, but accidental murder required living in a city of refuge until the death of the current high priest. Lying in court that could have resulted in a death penalty, carried a death penalty, but a lie that would have resulted in say the loss of a home resulted in the false witness losing his home. Most stealing would result in fines, but kidnapping carried the death penalty. Even breaking the Sabbath carried a death penalty (Exodus 31:13-17).<\/p>\n
However, death penalties could not be carried out unless there were two or more witnesses to the crime. The witnesses had to be from two independent sources.<\/p>\n
“Whoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the testimony of witnesses; but one witness is not sufficient testimony against a person for the death penalty<\/em>” (Numbers 35:30).<\/p>\n
“Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness<\/em>” (Deuteronomy 17:6).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Confession and repentance did not necessarily remove the death penalty. A confessed murderer would still get the death penalty. Achan still died after confessing that he stole from Jericho. “Now Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I have done: … And Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.” So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones<\/em>” (Joshua 7:19-20, 25).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: If you break one of the Ten Commandments, does it mean that you sinned? Of course, the consequence, I believe, is death, correct? However, if you confess what you did and repented, then God forgives you and you don’t have to die, correct? Answer: Each of the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament carried…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[51,879,50],"class_list":["post-35786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-confession","tag-death-penalty","tag-repentance"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35789,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-the-death-penalty-for-homosexuals-only-referring-to-hell\/","url_meta":{"origin":35786,"position":0},"title":"Was the death penalty for homosexuals only referring to hell?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does Deuteronomy 20 really say that we should kill gay people? I was always under the idea that it was saying God was going to kill them by sending them to hell when they died because they knew better and refused to change. Am I right? It came up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60937,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-would-jesus-do-about-the-death-penalty\/","url_meta":{"origin":35786,"position":1},"title":"What Would Jesus Do About the Death Penalty?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Joe Neil Clayton Recently C-span carried a speech by Alan Keyes to an audience in Virginia. Mr. Keyes, a respected columnist, orator, and candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, captivated his hearers with a lecture on the causes and cures for the moral collapse in our country. Part of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7419,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-does-the-bible-state-that-moses-stoned-a-woman-who-committed-adultery\/","url_meta":{"origin":35786,"position":2},"title":"Where does the Bible state that Moses stoned a woman who committed adultery?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 10, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In the new movie the Ten Commandments. Moses throws the first stone at a woman that committed adultery. Where is this stated in the book of Exodus? Answer: While I'm glad that Hollywood every once in a while decides to make a movie about decent subjects, I personally hate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7924,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-constitutes-a-witness-in-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":35786,"position":3},"title":"What constitutes a witness in the Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 30, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Deuteronomy 17:6 and II Corinthians13:1, the passages refer to the \"two or three witnesses.\" I assume these are eyewitnesses. Does DNA count as an eye witness for justice biblically? So when individuals are convicted on DNA evidence alone for their crimes and incarcerated or put to death, is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30916,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-jesus-allow-divorce-when-the-law-had-a-death-penalty-for-adultery\/","url_meta":{"origin":35786,"position":4},"title":"Why did Jesus allow divorce when the Law had a death penalty for adultery?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm trying to figure out how to reconcile a couple of Jesus' statements in the Sermon on the Mount. First Jesus said, \"Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50271,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-christian-support-capital-punishment\/","url_meta":{"origin":35786,"position":5},"title":"Should a Christian support capital punishment?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Minister, I read today in an article on your site that you approve of capital punishment. It is my opinion that capital punishment and the biblical teaching of loving and forgiving one's enemies are not compatible. 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