BiblicalInsights.net

Complicity is a doctrine that operates to hold persons criminally responsible for the acts of others.  Complicity encompasses assessorial and conspiratorial liability.  Assessorial liability is frequently referred to as accomplice liability.  An accomplice is a person who helps another person commit a crime.  Accomplice liability involves primary actors who actually participate in the commission of the crime and secondary actors who aid or encourage the primary actors.  The aid can be either physical or psychological.  The secondary actors are called accomplices (Wikipedia-8-13-13).
For example, the driver of a get-away car in a bank robbery is an accomplice.  A co-conspirator in a bank robbery is an accomplice.  In regards to crime, we understand what “complicity” means.
Is it possible to be complicit in sinful conduct?  The answer from God’s Word is, “yes.”  Consider the following biblical examples.
1.  Saul consented unto the death of Stephen (Acts 7:58, 8:1).  Saul held the clothing of those who stoned Stephen, a Christian, to death.  Saul may not have thrown a stone, but he was an accomplice to the sin.  The word “consenting” means “to take pleasure with others in anything” (Vine, I, 229).  Saul agreed with the act of stoning Stephen and consequently, he was guilty of sin.  Later, after becoming a Christian himself, Saul (or Paul) confessed this fact (I Tim. 1:13-14).
2.  In II John 9-10, we are warned about helping false teachers.  John writes, “Neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”  To bid someone God speed is to endorse that person.  To be a partaker of his evil deeds means that we have a share with, take part in his evil.  We may not be the one who teaches error, but we can aid and abet someone who does.  There are different ways that we might do this.  We might financially support a false teacher.  Or, we may speak well of him.  In Matt. 7:15, Jesus warned about false teachers who come to us in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravening wolves.  If we speak well of a false teacher or a false religionist, we help the wolf with his disquise!  We make him look like a sheep whenever he really is a wolf.  When we recharacterize evil men, we sin.  We become a party to a deception.
3.  In Acts 3:12-19, Peter states that the Jews killed the Prince of life (Jesus Christ).  “But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; and killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.”  We know that the Jews did not have the power of capital punishment and could not execute a person without the Roman governments’ consent.  The Jews went to Pilate, the Roman governor, in order to have Jesus crucified.  They called for Jesus to be crucified.  They leveled false charges against Him.  While the Jews did not actually drive the nails into Jesus’ hands nor pierce His side with a spear, they were accomplices in killing Jesus as Peter said.  They were complicit in the sin of murdering Jesus, an innocent man.  Later, Peter commands these same individuals to repent and turn to God that their sins may be blotted out (Acts 3:19).
Christians do not want to aid, help, fellowship, endorse, recharacterize evil men, or in any way promote sin.  It is a sin to do so.