I am not suggesting that non-criminal lawyers have any reason to fail to appreciate the good news about forgiveness and eternal life! Rather, that there is so much about criminal law that already points in the same direction as the Christian gospel. Honest seekers everywhere will ‘find’, said Jesus. But for some their thinking is already inclined that way. Criminal lawyers ought to be high on the list of those people.
Neither am I suggesting that anyone, however well qualified or intelligent, can fully understand the wonder of gospel truth without the express help of God the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus Christ taught that it is the task of the Spirit of God to reveal to any sinner the reality of his or her sin, the overwhelming righteousness of God in comparison with the inherent sinfulness of human nature, and the fact that God’s eternal judgement must fall on all sin that is not specifically repented of by the sinner who puts personal faith in Christ crucified and risen again. (See John chapters 14 to 16: for example, John 14:16-17; 15:26-27; 16:7-15)
Even though making the message of forgiveness understood by the willing hearer is the work of God, it is the nevertheless the preacher’s task to make it as clear as he possibly can that, in the words of an old hymn, ‘Christ receives sinful men’ (including women, of course.)
But why should it be easier for someone practising or familiar with criminal law to understand and appreciate what constitutes the gospel, also known as ‘good news’? This is broadly covered by considering the following topics common to both criminal law and the Christian gospel: Authority, Accountability with punishment, Clarity, Evidence, Advocacy, Individuality yet consistency, and Personal pleading. We will look at those matters now. They are never outdated.
First, Authority.
The foundational feature of Christianity is the sovereignty of God. We live under the higher and totally competent authority of God. He, through the Bible, the written word of God, is the final authority. The late Dr Billy Graham became famous for his constant use of three words, ‘The Bible says.’ Everything he taught had to be consistent with the Scriptures. He was merely demonstrating that God is in control and that the message of the Bible is the only message given with His authority. Many Christian churches, fellowships and organisations publish a written doctrinal basis that starts with the foundational emphasis that the Bible, as the word of God, is their final authority. They test the preacher or the teacher by the Bible and not the Bible by the preacher or the teacher.
Any lawyer who specialises in criminal case law knows that he or she cannot base the arguments made on some 'bright opinion' formulated by any individual. There has to be a clear authority coming from statute or common law, including the precedent set by decided cases. Books like Archbold are much esteemed because they argue closely from higher authority. That is why litigators quote them to support the view that they seek to express.
Similarly, no-one can know forgiveness from God or get to heaven via some man-made religious belief or practice. Neither is it true that 'all religions lead to God'. How can they if they contradict the word of God, the Bible? How could we limited human beings possibly know anything at all about a Sovereign, eternally existent, omnipotent, omniscient and limitless God if He had not made His will known to us? He has done that through the Bible. Like the criminal lawyer, the preacher must rely on that higher authority, in his case the very highest possible – God Himself.
Second, Accountability with punishment.
Unpopular as it will always be – because ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23) and ‘each of us shall give an account of himself [and herself] to God’ (Romans 24:12) – the Bible’s clear message is that our holy God must punish sin and not allow it into Heaven. Some say this is barbarous, but surely the same thinking that wrong must be punished is accepted in the definition of crime. Here are two shorter definitions of crime: ‘A wrong against the State which is punishable at the instigation of the State’ and ‘An action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law.’ Every definition carries the fact that the wrongdoing must be punished. After all, the whole idea behind a trial is to see if the accused is guilty or not, with a sentence of punishment awaiting those who are guilty.
That is also a basic Biblical principle applying to sin. Sin is breaking God’s law, and it is a happy accident of the English language that the centre letter of sin is ‘I’. It applies to me. I am the one who sins and I must be ready to trust the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour or else meet Him as my Judge. It is not for nothing that the Bible says, that ‘The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 6:23) and that ‘it is appointed for men to die once but after this the judgement’ (Hebrews 9:27)
As the guys say in the prisons, where I have the privilege to serve as a Christian chaplain, ‘You do the crime, so you do the time.’ Jesus, who loves guilty sinners and wants to save and change them, offers forgiveness to those who confess their sins to Him, turn from them, and believe that Jesus’ death on the cross was to bear the punishment for their sins. They do not escape judgement by hoping that there is no accountability with punishment, but by believing that Jesus ‘Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree [the cross.]’ As a result if we have trusted in Jesus, although we ‘were like sheep going astray [we] ‘have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of [our] souls.(1 Peter 2:24,25)
Third, Clarity.
In statutory offences the breaking of the law brings a penalty irrespective of the knowledge or intent of the law breaker. So, a driver who unknowingly and unintentionally breaks the speed limit specified by law is guilty of a statutory crime. Apart from statutory offences, to be guilty of breaking the law the accused has to possess both a guilty mind (‘mens rea’) and also perform a connected guilty act in practice (‘actus reus’). Without both of those elements of guilty intent and guilty deed there is no crime. Sometimes the guilty mind is obvious. At other times it has to be inferred from circumstances, along stated lines of reasoning provided mainly by case law. But what constitutes each specific crime needs to be clearly defined, so that in any court case the Prosecution knows what must be proved and the Defence knows what it must defend. A wise Prosecutor often first confirms to the court exactly what he, or she, has to prove for the court to reach a guilty verdict on the charge or charges before them. Sentencing will follow that, sometimes soon after and sometimes considerably later.
God not only sees, knows and judges our guilty acts without any need of a jury, or to hear the case for the Prosecution, or the case for the Defence. God already sees and knows the hidden intent in all of our guilty hearts, whether we are criminals or not. In the Book of Proverbs, 15:3 we read ‘The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.’ It’s rather like a spiritual video camera, but one that never fails or distorts the image! Harbouring a guilty intent in the heart is in itself sinful in the eyes of our perfectly holy God, who hates sin. An act arising from that guilty intent is also a sin as well as making the sin recognisable in the eyes of society.
The need for the accused person, be it in a court of law or before our holy and omniscient God, to know that he or she has done wrong is essential. The need for clarity cannot be emphasised too much.
Fourth, Evidence.
Everything mentioned so far, and what will follow below, demands that reliable evidence clearly exists in every case before the court to prove the facts and opinions stated. That is the whole sine qua non of both criminal trials and also for gospel preaching.
Because of the truth already shown in Proverbs 15:3, when God considers the evidence of individual sinfulness, no wrong decision can ever be reached about our or any person’s sin. Why? Because God Himself witnesses every wrong that makes any and every sinner guilty. So, we can be absolutely sure that Christ’s sentence of eternal judgement to come (Matthew 7:23) was justified and right on those who broke His law and failed His standards. Most of them were religious but were not what the Bible calls ‘saved’. Judge Jesus said to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me you who practise lawlessness!’ So God’s sentence on any guilty sinner who has not repented and trusted in Jesus, is based on completely reliable evidence. Each of us really is a guilty sinner, lost without knowing Jesus, and fully deserves His condemnation as is clearly shown in the words of Romans 1:18, ‘the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.’ Yet, by God’s amazing grace, we can come to know that we are no longer under condemnation when we trust Jesus. (Romans 8:1)
God the Father knows that God the Son, Jesus Christ, really was sinless and perfect and, on the cross, took all the sins and their eternal punishment for every guilty sinner who will turn his or her back on sin (Jesus used the word ‘repent’). Repentance involves confessing sins, having real sorrow for having committed them, and turning from them to trust and follow Jesus with the help of God the Holy Spirit.
All evidence is seen, understood and accepted by the only perfect One who is also the flawless witness, and the completely just Judge. He needs no jury. He has seen and understood all things.
The question of such evidence covers another important point, which is not the subject of this article now. Suffice it to say, that the evidence for the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus –is overwhelming. I will indulge, however, in giving a quotation below from Lord Chief Justice Darling, 1849-1936. (Lord Denning, famous for his teaching on New Equity, would most certainly have agreed with Lord Chief Justice Darling!) The fact that God the Father raised Jesus from the dead is, itself, evidence that Jesus's substitutionary death on the cross for us was accepted by His holy Father God as able to save all repentant lost sinners of all ages who would call on Christ to save them.
The famous Lord Chief Justice said: ‘The crux of the problem of whether Jesus was or was not what He proclaimed Himself to be must surely depend on the truth or otherwise of the resurrection. On that greatest point we are not merely asked to have faith. In its favour as a living truth there exists such overwhelming evidence, positive and negative, factual and circumstantial, that no intelligent jury in the world could fail to bring in the verdict that the resurrection story is true.’
Fifth, Advocacy.
Occasionally an accused person conducts his, or her, own defence in court. I think most informed observers would agree that experience strongly indicates that it is far better normally to have a professional advocate. When it comes to facing an all-knowing God as Judge, who sees into the very hearts of people, there is no way before Him that we can resist His knowledge that we are sinners and deserve His eternal punishment on our sins. Nothing unclean, defiling, causing abomination, or untrue can enter Heaven. (Revelation 21:27)
However, there is an Advocate available who never lost, never loses, and will never lose a case. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible confirms that those who confess their sins to God, repent from them, and ask the now risen and ever living Lord and Saviour to enter and control their hearts and lives, will discover the truth of 1 John 1:9 that ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
The reason for the certainty of the result is that ‘we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.’ (1 John 2:1). Jesus’ righteousness is regarded as ours, just our sins were all borne by Him and paid for by Him. A criminal law advocate cannot guarantee the result of the trial. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, ‘is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him’. (Hebrews 7:25) Our crucified and risen Advocate never fails.
I heard about a man, accused of a crime, whose solicitor secured for him the services of a well-respected barrister to defend him. CPS then withdrew the case on apparently good grounds, so it was dropped. That barrister was not required. Some years later some fresh evidence allegedly came to light and the charges were again put on the accused man. He asked his solicitor to hire the same barrister as he had hired before. He was told that it was now too late. In fact, that barrister had now become a Judge.
We either take Jesus as our advocate now by confession of sin, repentance and personal faith in Him alone – with a sure result of being pardoned by the God we have offended and receiving eternal life – or else we meet Him as our Judge with an equally sure result of ‘guilty’ and punishment forever.
Sixth, Individuality yet consistency.
Consistency in the way accused people are prosecuted is vital. This should go right through from Police involvement to rights extended at court, and to the correct application of the law. In the event of a guilty verdict, every effort should be made to make sentencing consistent. There are sentencing guidelines to follow to help the court achieve this. Yet, in all of this, all people should be treated with respect as individual citizens. Race, colour, sex, age, background, status and financial state should all be irrelevant. Men and women must be treated fairly and individually and in a consistent way.
God certainly is consistent in His dealings with us, yet He has no favourites. Whoever comes to Jesus for forgiveness and eternal life will receive His salvation. Those who do not come to Christ will be judged. As we have already considered, ‘For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ (Romans 3:22-23) Balance that with ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16). Then see that balance in the last verse of John 3, namely verse 36, ‘He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.’
Whoever you are, those truths apply to you too.
Seventh, Personal pleading.
Soon after an accused person has confirmed personal identity and details in court, he or she will be asked what is his or her plea. The answer can only be ‘Guilty’ or ‘Not guilty’. There is no half-way stage. No stating that the accused is better than certain other people! No ‘Sorry, but I don’t know!’ ‘Guilty’ or ‘Not Guilty’ are the only possibilities.
I once met a man who claimed he was perfect and without sin. He told me this after I had preached at his church, and emphasised that because we all are sinners we all need to receive Christ as our personal Saviour. So, I went and had a brief chat with his wife. To summarise, she confirmed that she had never noticed his sinlessness! I told him that, and his face went red as he was extremely cross and even rude to me! I then added quietly that I had not noticed his sinlessness either!
Any honest person will admit the truth of Isaiah 53:6, ‘All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, everyone, to his own way.’ Those who have realised that Jesus paid for those sins on the cross is grateful to be able complete that verse, ‘And the LORD has laid on Him [namely on Jesus] the iniquity of us all.’
Someone has said that ‘The way up is down.’ It is as we humbly plead ‘Guilty’ with shame before God and come to Christ, through our personal faith being expressed in a simple prayer, that Jesus enters our lives through the Holy Spirit as we become what Jesus described as being ‘born again’ (John 3:1-7).
The difference between our judicial system and God’s is that if we plead or are found ‘Guilty’ in court we must be punished, Before God unless we plead ‘Guilty’ and repent we shall be punished. Let’s learn from a crooked tax collector who became aware of his sin with shame. Jesus said of Him, ‘the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God be merciful to me, a sinner!'. Jesus said that this humble and guilt-conscious man was heard and accepted by God, in contrast to the self-centred prayer of the self-righteous Pharisee. That is the spirit we need when we plead with God for forgiveness and eternal life by turning to Christ.
Blessing to come?
There are, no doubt, other good reasons that exist to see why a criminal lawyer should already be pointing in a ‘gospel direction’, but these seven factors should help each person to see his sin, see his crucified Saviour, make that about-turn from sin and ask the risen Lord Jesus Christ to enter and be Lord of his life through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
When that happens God will demonstrate clearly to all who are open to consider that ‘if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.’ (2 Corinthians 5:17). If that has not been your experience yet, it can be. You may ask, 'How?'
To answer that, I close with John 1:12 ‘as many as received Him [the Lord Jesus Christ], to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.’
God has blessing ahead for those who trust in His word.
All Bible references are from The New King James Version (NKJV)