Punishment Without Prison?

“Spare the rod, spoil the child!” is an oft quoted phrase that I consider a southern translation of Proverbs 13:24, which reads, “whoever spares the rod, hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” Simply put, discipline is beneficial for children as they grow into fully fledged adults in society. But discipline, which includes punishment, is also necessary for adults who break the law, not “loving their neighbor as themselves” (Mark 12:31). There are both modes and motives of punishment laid out in Scripture. Dr. John Frame in his work, The Doctrine of the Christian Life, gives several motives of punishment that we will discuss below.[1]

Deterrence. Society punishes the offender of a crime not only as a lesson to the criminal, but also to the rest of society. Some punishments do not give an opportunity for improvement to the offender and only serves pedagogically to society. Capital punishment is one such example. In Deuteronomy 13, an Israelite who worships another god is called to be stoned to death and “all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you” (Deuteronomy 13:11).

Reformation. Another motive for punishment is the reformation of the offender. Parents’ discipline should always have this motivation for, “folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him” (Proverbs 22:15). Church discipline and even excommunication have the same motive. One can think of the Apostle Paul’s admonishment to the church in 1 Corinthians 5, that they are to remove the church member that is having an illegitimate relationship in order that he may be restored back to the church and not prove himself an unbeliever and experience the wrath of God. Later in 2 Corinthians 5, Paul asks the church to forgive this same man who has repented of his gross sin, and to receive him back into the church. This is the goal and motive of reformation in punishment.

Restitution. In our Scripture lesson this morning, we will discuss the motive for restitution. In restitution, when property is lost or damaged, the offender is called to restore what was lost, and at times to give more than simply what was lost. The concept of restitution is the idea of making the victim whole again. As we think through these three motives (though Frame offers more) we recognize that deterrence focuses on general society; reformation focuses on the offender; and restitution focuses on the victim.

In Scripture, we are not only given motives of punishment, but we are also given modes. Some of these modes include restitution, capital punishment, beating (Deut. 25:1-3), ceremonial sacrifices, and possibly exile.[2] One punishment that we do not see in Scripture is imprisonment, which is the main form of punishment in modern America. I am not attempting to crusade for changes in our criminal system, but I would like to add comments from Douglas Stuart as food for thought, as we think about the current state of imprisonment versus Biblical Law. Stuart gives four reasons that restitution is a better means of discipline for theft and damage, than imprisonment:[3] (1) restitution compensates the victim more generously and immediately; (2) it requires the offender to deal directly with the person he has offended; (3) it permits the repentant offender to continue a productive life immediately; and (4) it does not require society to provide housing, food, and clothing for the duration of the offender’s imprisonment.

One does not have to necessarily agree with Drs. Frame or Stuart, but their writings on punishment in Scripture should give us ways to think about more just ways of discipline in our modern society. And this should lead us to read the Book of the Covenant (Exodus 20:22-23:33) and all Biblical Law more carefully and excitedly as we recognize the wisdom that these ancient texts have for our society today. May God bless our time as we continue to work our way through the Book of the Covenant.

[1] John M. Frame. A Theology of Lordship: The Doctrine of the Christian Life (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2008), 695-96.

[2] Ibid. 698

[3] Douglas K. Stuart. The New American Commentary: Exodus Vol. 2 (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2006), 500-01.