The Plea Bargain Trap

One of the most insidious mechanisms of the modern judicial system is the plea bargain. In most criminal cases involving Christians who have run afoul of unjust public policies, a plea bargain is offered in which the accused confesses to a lesser crime he did not commit to reduce the overall risk and penalty he faces. Accepting it is often the “wisest” course from a purely pragmatic standpoint, albeit a painful one that adds to the unjust suffering. The Christian must confess to something he did not do, officially declaring himself a criminal in the eyes of the state and of society, in order to avoid the even more Draconian punishment that the system threatens if he dares to assert his innocence at trial.

This is a diabolical mechanism, and I use that adjective advisedly. It is designed to produce confessions, not justice. It is designed to maintain the system’s conviction rate, not to determine truth. It is designed to break the accused’s will, not to vindicate the innocent. And it is the standard operating procedure of courts in virtually every modern Western democracy. What more should we expect from the state, so vitally linked to Satan (Luke 4:6; Ezekiel 28:1-19)?

The Christian caught in this trap must decide according to his conscience before God. There is no universal answer. Some will accept the plea bargain as a prudent concession to overwhelming force, just as a man might surrender his wallet to an armed robber rather than risk his life over money. Others will refuse on principle, accepting the greater punishment rather than bearing false witness against themselves. Both responses are defensible. Neither is without cost.

Courts as the Instrument of Persecution

Courts, tribunals, and prisons are part of the state’s judicial arm. Taken together, biblical references to such institutions form a body of information and teaching that demonstrates that judicial action against believers is more common in Scripture than accounts of any other type of public policy or policy generator. Much of the Bible is dedicated to telling the often outrageous stories of serious, committed believers’ experiences before tribunals and in prison. In short, courts have not been our hope, but rather a scourge. Indeed, in the Bible, courts are the most frequently used instruments to facilitate the persecution of the saints.

Serious, committed Christians preach the Gospel, “do good,” and teach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27) in order to transform people’s hearts, minds, and behavior, as well as to openly challenge Satan and his false religions (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Doing so raises the ire of the enemy and often leads faithful Christians to land in state courts, where buying “the truth” (Proverbs 23:23; John 1:17, 14:6) is neither appreciated nor valued. In fact, to the chagrin of many dedicated Christians who shun evil and are “valiant for the truth” (Jeremiah 9:3), just the opposite is true: truth-telling is penalized, and compliance with falsehood is rewarded.

The Christian’s Proper Posture

How then should the serious, committed Christian regard the state’s judicial power? Neither with naïve trust nor with nihilistic despair, but with clear-eyed biblical realism.

First, we must abandon the myth—inculcated by public school civics courses and reinforced by democratic propaganda—that the judicial system is fundamentally just. It is not. It is a human institution, corrupted by sin, wielded by fallen men, and frequently employed as a weapon against the people of God. All that your civics teacher taught you about how the system should work is probably about to come crashing down around you, if it has not already.

Second, we must not set our hopes too high for obtaining justice in court or for avoiding suffering wrongfully. The historical record, both biblical and post-biblical, is overwhelmingly against such expectations. Hope in earthly justice is misplaced hope.

Third, we must keep our focus on the Almighty. The Psalmist knew where to look when earthly courts had failed him:

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. (Psalm 121:1-3)

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us: Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us...Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 124:2-3, 6-8)

Fourth, if you are still embroiled in some judicial process, do not fret. Keep focused on the Almighty. The state’s judicial power is real, and it is often wielded unjustly, but it is not ultimate. There is a higher court, presided over by a Judge who cannot be bribed, cannot be deceived, and will not be mocked. Before that court, every unjust verdict will be overturned, every corrupt prosecutor will give account, and every suffering saint will be vindicated.

Concluding Hope

With this knowledge, the reader should be more sensitive than ever about fulfilling the biblical requirement to visit Christians in prison (Matthew 25:36-40; Colossians 4:18; Philemon 23). Ultimately, Christians who suffer unjustly have a different hope and a sharper focus on God than those who have never passed through the fire. The Preacher of Ecclesiastes, who understood the vanity and injustice of earthly courts better than most, nevertheless concluded with this unshakable affirmation:

Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God. (Ecclesiastes 8:12-13)

It shall be well. Not because the courts will rule justly. Not because the prosecutors will repent. Not because the judges will see reason. Not because the public policies will be reformed. It shall be well because the sovereign God of the universe has decreed that it shall be well with those who fear Him. And His decree, unlike the decrees of earthly courts, cannot be appealed, overturned, or ignored. It stands forever.

True believers know that they have not necessarily done wrong in God’s sight, even if they have violated some public policy. Standards and rules based on political correctness are not biblical, and those who invent them couldn’t care less about what God says. Public policy declarations cannot make acts right or wrong—even when couched in supposedly noble or scientific intentions. Public policy in Germany, based on “science,” concluded that Jews, Gypsies, Homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and some committed Evangelicals were tantamount to an inferior race and should be exterminated. Hiding Jews was declared wrong, and violators were punished. But those violators “did good” in the sight of God. The same may be said of those in antebellum America who helped free black slaves. If they suffered for such violations, they did so unjustly. One might say, “But those were extreme cases,” as if exceptions cannot establish a rule. However, there are many dozens of cases—indeed, I have enumerated above only a fraction of them—where public policy conflicts with God’s determination of right and wrong.

The state’s judicial power is not the Christian’s friend. It never has been. From the halls of Pilate’s praetorium to the courtrooms of Santiago, from the Bedford jail of Bunyan’s day to the family courts of twenty-first-century America, the judicial arm of the state has been the sharpest instrument in the arsenal deployed against the saints. But the God who sustained Joseph in Potiphar’s prison, who delivered Daniel from the lions, who preserved Paul through shipwreck and trial and chains, who kept Bunyan writing masterpieces from within his cell—that God has not changed. He does not slumber. He does not forget. And He has promised, with the full weight of His eternal, immutable, and sovereign word, that it shall be well with those who fear Him. Let us therefore fear God, and not the courts.

Action Steps

Read Acts 21-28 in a single sitting. Pay specific attention to Paul’s interactions with the various courts and authorities. Note that none of them ruled in his favor. Ask yourself: if the greatest missionary in church history could not obtain justice from the state’s judicial power, what should your expectations be?

Study the heritage of Baptist persecution. Read about Bunyan, Holmes, Clarke, Williams, and the Waldenses. Understand that the tradition in which you stand was forged in the fires of judicial persecution, and draw courage from the faithfulness of those who went before you.

If you are facing legal proceedings, prepare yourself spiritually and theologically before you prepare yourself legally. Understand that the system is not designed to produce justice. Retain legal counsel if you can, but place your ultimate trust in God, not in lawyers.

Examine the plea bargain carefully. If offered one, do not accept or reject it reflexively. Consider the practical consequences, consult with your attorney, pray, and decide according to your conscience before God. Remember that accepting a plea bargain means confessing to something you did not do, and weigh that fact appropriately.

Fulfill the biblical command to visit prisoners (Matthew 25:36-40). If you have not experienced the judicial system yourself, you have a responsibility to support those who have. Write letters. Send money for purchases made in the informal economy. Visit in person. Pray by name. Do not abandon your brothers and sisters to the machinery of the state.

Discussion Questions

Why does the Bible devote so much of the book of Acts to Paul’s interactions with courts and legal authorities? What is the Holy Spirit teaching the church through this extended narrative?

How does the Isaiah 5:20 framework—“calling evil good and good evil”—help us interpret Romans 13:3-4 and 1 Peter 2:14? Can we reconcile the biblical command to submit to governing authorities with the reality that those authorities often persecute Christians?

What is the Christian’s obligation when public policy directly conflicts with God’s law? Consider the examples listed in this chapter and discuss how the principle of Acts 5:29 applies to each.

How should the church support Christians who are caught in the plea bargain trap? Is accepting a plea bargain to a crime one did not commit a form of bearing false witness, or is it a prudent concession to overwhelming force? Can both positions be biblically defended?