Crime and Punishment

In Romans 7, Paul delivers a striking analysis of the inner struggle between the flesh and the spirit, the battle between desires to do evil and to do good, and ultimately, the source of our victory. Here is a sampling:
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.
19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.
22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
25 I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

Because we have been born again, we have a new spirit, we are declared to be new creatures in Christ Jesus. We are not born good, we are born with a propensity for evil - we need the redeeming power of a Savior.  Jesus came to transform the human heart - to give us a new nature and then to enable us to walk in that new nature. We can know proclaim our victory in Christ and walk in the new life that He has provided; rejecting the power of sin, that leads to death, and embracing the power of Jesus Christ, who gives us eternal life.

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In the 17th chapter of Jeremiah, we can see a comparison between the power of the evil heart and the power of God's Word that can change it:
7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
10 I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

It seems all too common these days - public areas that are threatened by people who are intent on doing harm.  Over the last year, there have been several instances of violence occurring at a celebratory community event - a parade. That hit close to home with me recently, as shots were fired and one person left dead and another injured near the conclusion of Dothan's National Peanut Festival Parade, in a location past which I had driven only minutes before.  We remember the Fourth of July Parade in Highland Park, Illinois, which left six people dead and dozens injured. 

Last year, just over a year ago, a man drove an SUV into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and six people lost their lives and many were injured.  The man convicted of this deadly act, according to the Post Millennial website, was sentenced "to six life sentences, to be served consecutively without the possibility or eligibility for extended supervision."

The article also noted that the man, Darrell Brooks was also "sentenced to 17 and a half years for each of the 61 counts of reckless endangerment, 25 years for each of the six counts of hit and run, six years of two counts of bail jumping, and nine months for one count of battery, all to be served consecutively." There was also financial restitution that was ordered.

The judge in the case, Jennifer Dorow, presented an exemplary amount of moral clarity in her comments. She reportedly told the defendant, "to order anything other than what I have done, sir, would be to unduly depreciate the seriousness of these offenses. It is needed, although largely symbolic given the number of years that I have imposed here today, because frankly, you deserve it."  The article also noted:

Shortly before the sentencing, Dorow explained why she stated that mental health issues "did not cause him to do what he did on November 2021, and frankly, did not play a role," reading out reports from experts.

"In the last year and a half alone, this court has ordered many competency evaluations, presided over a number of contested competency hearings, and ordered many, many evaluations for the special plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect."

"And the bottom line is for this court, Mr. Brooks does not present as a person who is either not competent or not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect," Dorow continued.

The judge was unrelenting in characterizing Brooks' actions as "evil," stating, "...there are times when evil people do bad things. There is no medication or treatment for a heart that is bent on evil."

She also stated:

"It’s very clear to this court that he understands the difference between right and wrong, and that he simply chose to ignore his conscience, fueled by anger and rage. Some people, unfortunately, choose a path of evil, and I think Mr. Brooks, you are one of those such persons."

What an astonishing presentation of the clear distinction between right and wrong, good and evil, the characterization of acts as "evil," and the defendant's choice, in her estimation, to ignore the "conscience."

Dorow is, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "a graduate of Marquette University and Regent University School of Law."  Regent, is a Christian-based law school in Virginia Beach.

In the judge's comments, you can recognize some clear Biblical concepts that need to be talked about these days. We live in times when those who are responsible to uphold the law abdicate that responsibility - in some areas, we hear and see reports of crimes do not receive the punishment they deserve.  Criminals who should be receiving punishment, it seems like, are receiving a free pass. And, with Americans on edge regarding crime statistics, I think you have to admit that there is a problem with people recognizing right from wrong, distinguishing good from evil.

There is a spiritual problem and a departure from the clarity of the Scriptures.  The Bible teaches us the difference between right and wrong, between good and evil.  It also points to the existence of the conscience, an inner sense, even a moral "voice" in our hearts and minds that help us to recognize those differences.  But, if we are not born again, we don't have the capacity to adequately train that conscience by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.  Now, we cannot be good in and of ourselves - we are born to be evil, that's the result of the Fall - and even those who do not believe in Christ can at least recognize the difference between good and evil.  But, even though someone may know the right thing to do; but if he or she doesn't do it, the Bible clearly tells us that it sin.

The really, really good news is that we can be redeemed.  No one is beyond the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We are all sinners, yet because of God's grace, He has determined that we can come into a relationship with Jesus, who can forgive our sins and set us free from the power of sin.  In our flesh, we have the propensity to do evil; through the Spirit we can overcome.