Church and State
A Free
Disputation Against Pretended Liberty of Conscience by Samuel Rutherford.
Most
Christians would argue that no King, Parliament, or President may justly punish
or suppress heresy, blasphemy or idolatry. I would imagine that if an amendment
to the U.S. Constitution were proposed, which declared Christianity to be the
only true religion, and the God of the Bible to be the only true God, and that
all nations owe Christ obedience, that Christians would overwhelmingly oppose
it.
One of the primary reasons given
(amongst Christians) against suppressing false religion, is that since no man
is infallible in matters of faith, no man may punish another man for his
beliefs. But if the true religion is so murky and indistinguishable from the
false, then how are we to hold fast and continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of
the gospel, which we have heard... (Colossians 1:23)? If we are
so impaired, as to not be able to determine who is sound and who is heretical,
with sufficient clarity to justly and safely punish the wolves and protect the
sheep, then how can we be expected
to reject a heretic after the first and
second admonition (Titus 3:9)? This and many other arguments are addressed
quite masterfully by Mr. Rutherford in this work.
Originally written in 1649, the entire
book has been transcribed and uploaded. The page continuity has been preserved
from the original. (Original page numbers are in parenthesis.) The margin notes
and some of the longer Latin quotes have been omitted, along with some of the
Hebrew and Greek text. A photocopy version of the original 1649 edition is
available at www.swrb.com
Two
Sons of Oil by Rev. Samuel B. Wylie
If a civil government makes it
its policy to bridle and restrain the true religion of the Bible, to ban and
remove God’s Law from public places and monuments, to prevent public money from
being used in the propagation of the Gospel, to forbid the mentioning of God in
the classrooms of the public schools, if it is the policy of this same
government to defend and protect Christ’s enemies and their alleged right to
publish and spread heretical teachings that seduce and eternally destroy souls,
if that government permits what God forbids and forbids what God commands, then
is it truly a lawful magistrate that the Christian owes conscientious
subjection to? Is this what Paul describes in Romans 13:4 “...he is the
minister of God to thee for good ... he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth
evil...” ?
Reverend
Samuel B. Wylie gives us a very clear and biblical explanation of what
responsibilities the lawful Magistrate is charged with by the Lord. He then
explains what responsibilities the Christian has or does not have under a
lawful or unlawful Magistrate. Also available at www.swrb.com
Biblical
Civil Government versus the Beast; and, The Basis for Civil Resistance by Greg
Price
In this contemporary work, Pastor Price demonstrates
that the Reformed Churches of ages past viewed Church and State relations much
differently than our modern Reformed denominations. For example, the
Westminster Confession originally said of the Magistrate “...he has authority, and it is his
duty, to take order that unity and peace be preserved in the Church, that the
truth of God be kept pure and entire, that all blasphemies and heresies be
suppressed, all corruptions and abuses in worship and discipline prevented or
reformed, and all the ordinances of God duly settled, administrated, and
observed...” Chapter 23 sect 3. The Belgic Confession agrees concerning the Magistrate “…their
office is, not only to have regard unto, and watch for the welfare of the civil
state; but also that they protect the sacred ministry; and thus may remove and
prevent all idolatry and false worship; that the kingdom of anti-Christ may be
thus destroyed and the kingdom of Christ promoted…” Chapter 36. I could go
on to quote Calvin, Beza, Knox, Turretin
and many other worthy men, but Pastor Price does all this and more in this very
fine book on Biblical Civil Government. Also available at www.swrb.com
Civil
Government an Exposition of Romans 13: 1-7 by James M. Willson, A.M. 1853.
What makes a Civil Government a
legitimate authority that we must obey? Is it the power of its army, the will
of the ruled, or is something else required? If a magistrate is tyrannical does
the Christian owe him conscientious subjection? If a wicked King oppresses the
land, may the godly revolt as Ehud did (Judges 3: 16) against King Eglon?
Throughout history, the text Romans 13: 1-7 has been much abused by despots and
tyrants in order to wield an unjust power over Christian subjects. Mr. Wilson
shows that God has indeed ordained civil government, but that a government
approved of by Him is more than simply an armed power, or even the product of a
popular vote.