LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
What does the Bible say about lawyers?
Submitted to Dr. James Sulfridge
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500
Discipleship Ministries
By
Anthony Bean
The modern-day definition of a lawyer is a person whose profession is to represent clients
in a court of law or to advise or act for clients in other legal matters. This term lawyer or
lawyers appears seven times in the New King James Version of the Bible. However, what the
Bible referred to as lawyers in that day and time was somewhat different than our current
version of this profession.
Lawyers in the Bible
When the Bible refers to a lawyer it is meaning someone who was an expert or scholar in
the Mosaic Law. These were religious leaders who were teachers of the Law of Moses. They
were not attorneys who were hired to file lawsuits or to defend individuals in court. As seen in
the verse below some versions of the Bible refer to them as lawyers, while other versions call
them experts in the (religious) law. (Luke 10:25) One day an expert in religious law stood up to
test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” NLT/
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I
do to inherit eternal life?” NIV. And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying,
“Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” NKJV
Woe to the Lawyers
Six out of the seven times that lawyers are mentioned in the Bible it is not in a favorable
way. On more than one occasion the Bible says these experts in the law, along with the
Pharisees, tried to trap Jesus by testing Him with questions (Luke 10:25, Mathew 22:35). Luke
7:30 says they rejected God’s plan for them by refusing John’s baptism. One of these religious
experts went so far as to tell Jesus, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”
Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with
burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them. (Luke
11:45-46)
Zenas the Lawyer
Zenas represents the one time that Bible lawyers were not spoken of in a negative way in
the Scriptures. In Paul’s letter to Titus he instructs him to do everything he can to help Zenas
the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need (Titus 3:13).
This is the only time Zenas is mentioned in the Bible. His usefulness to Paul, along with the fact
that he was traveling with Apollos, indicates this law expert had most likely converted to
Christianity and was assisting Paul, possibly as a missionary. Tradition counts Zenas as being
one of the seventy-two disciples that Jesus sent out in (Luke 10:1).
The Bible does not say anything about lawyers as we know them today. Israel was under
the legal jurisdiction of Rome during Jesus’ time, so when the Bible mentions “teachers of the
law” (Luke 5:17) or “lawyers” (Luke 14:3, ESV), it is referring to the religious leaders who were
experts in the Mosaic Law. The modern-day court system, with prosecuting attorneys and
defense attorneys, did not really exist at that time. Lawyers as we know them today—
professional public servants who know the ins and outs of the legal process and can lend their
knowledge to resolve various conflicts with clarity and justice—did not appear until after the
Middle Ages. The Bible mentions human accusers—those who bring a charge against another in
front of a court or magistrate—but they are usually witnesses, not lawyers for the prosecution
(Luke 12:58; Matthew 5:25). The only character in the Bible who comes close to filling the job of
a prosecuting attorney is Tertullus, an orator who was knowledgeable of Roman law and who
was paid by the Jews to present their initial case against Paul before Governor Felix (Acts 24:1).
The concept of prosecutors and defense attorneys, or advocates, is a biblical one. We have
a spiritual Advocate in Jesus Christ, the righteous (1 John 2:1). He defends our cause before the
Judge, God the Father. There is a prosecuting attorney, too: the Accuser, Satan (Revelation
12:10). Satan knows the Mosaic Law very well; he knows the Law better than any modern
lawyer knows the laws of his land. He knows that man has broken the Law, and he can
therefore accuse us. Thankfully, we have an Advocate in Jesus Christ. He is our Defense
Attorney who comes before the Judge with a solution: He has fulfilled the Law for us, so that
our punishment can be placed on His shoulders and we can be declared not guilty (see
Matthew 5:17; Romans 3:24; and Isaiah 53:5).
The legal system today reflects this biblical model. The prosecuting lawyer looks into the law
and brings an accusation against the defendant, attempting to show his guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt. Then the defense lawyer argues for the innocence of his client or points to
some extenuating circumstance. In the case of the Christian, the extenuating circumstance is
Jesus’ sacrifice, which paid our debt to the Lawgiver and allowed us to go free, despite our guilt
according to the Law (Romans 8:1–5).
Lawyers today face many ethical and moral challenges. One is how far a lawyer should go
to protect and defend a client. Is the use of “sneaky” but legal tactics ever warranted? A
Christian lawyer who has an opportunity to win a case and protect a client using a legal but
morally questionable tactic should ask himself a few probing questions: Is the tactic clearly
immoral? Is the tactic in question going to require something that God has commanded
against? For instance, will the tactic require the lawyer or client to tell a lie? Will it require the
lawyer or client to cheat someone else or to be unkind to him or her? Finally, will the tactic
misrepresent the truth so that the guilty goes free or an innocent person is punished? If any or
all of these questions can be answered with a “yes,” it should cast doubt on the ethical use of
the tactic. If, however, the lawyer is acting ethically in God’s eyes and simply using the law in a
way that will benefit the client, there is no reason why his knowledge and expertise should not
benefit the case. Christian lawyers must have a commitment to honesty and a conviction
against “winning at all costs” (Proverbs 11:1–3; James 3:16; Philippians 2:3). When there is a
question about the validity of a courtroom tactic, the best course of action is to ask the Holy
Spirit for guidance and then trust Him to provide (James 1:5).
Another ethical challenge some lawyers face is the question of defending a client who he or
she knows is guilty. A Christian lawyer should not knowingly defend a guilty client if the defense
would involve falsehood, excusing the crime, or blame-shifting. Ignoring justice is something
that God “detests” (Proverbs 17:15). A curse is associated with calling the guilty innocent
(Proverbs 24:24), and blessings are promised to those who convict the guilty (Proverbs 24:25).
Acquitting a guilty man is wrong for several reasons. First, if a guilty person is acquitted,
other criminals are emboldened. Second, there is a chance that the man himself will be
tempted to repeat his crime, because there was no punishment the first time. Third, on
principle, it is wrong to acquit a guilty man, because we must all come to the recognition of our
guilt before God if we are to be saved (James 2:10; Romans 3:19–20, 28; 8:1–2). Defending a
client knowing of his guilt is no different, morally, from aiding and abetting the crime itself.
