Hypothetical

[Guest]

If I remember right PAUL was a murderer and didn't turn himself in to be tried as one.

You almost got me here!!!

Well, first of all the Roman authorities approved the actions of Paul at that time. He was commended for killing the Christians therefore there is no need for him to surrender to the Roman authorities.

[Guest]

You have a friend who recently came to the Lord and gave his life to Christ. You find out from your friend that 25 years ago he/she committed a murder in a fit of rage upon a person who had no living relatives. The murder has remained unsolved but now since you know that this friend has done this thing and the crime happened 25 years before the life changing decision your friend has made, what do you do?

note: this is truly a hypothetical event. I ask this purely for discussion and want to see what types of responses you may have. I want to see if there are varying understandings of what the responsibility is and upon whom it may lie.

If what you say were true ("he gave his life to the Lord") then the guilty person would have repented and brought forth fruits that showed it was genuine. One of them would have been confession of his sin, not only to God but to the authorities.

I would counsel him that he turn himself in and that if he did not, I would have to.

See Luke 19 and the story of Zacchaeus.