Westminster 1647

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Of the Civil Magistrate

Of the Civil Magistrate

Of the Civil Magistrate - Chapter of the Westminster Confession of Faith

  1. God, the Supreme Lord and King of all the world, hath ordained civil magistrates to be under him over the people, for his own glory and the public good; and to this end, hath armed them with the power of the sword, for the defense and encouragement of them that are good, and for the punishment of evildoers.462

    • 462. Romans 13:1-4.
    • 1 Peter 2:13,14.

  2. It is lawful for Christians to accept and execute the office of a magistrate when called thereunto;463 in the managing whereof, as they ought especially to maintain piety, justice, and peace, according to the wholesome laws of each commonwealth,464 so, for that end, they may lawfully, now under the New Testament, wage war upon just and necessary occasions.465

    • 463. Proverbs 8:15,16.
    • Romans 13:1,2,4.
    • 464. Psalms 2:10-12.
    • 1 Timothy 2:2.
    • Psalms 82:3,4.
    • 1 Peter 2:13.
    • 2 Samuel 23:3.
    • 465. Luke 3:14.
    • Romans 13:4.
    • Matthew 8:9,10.
    • Revelation 17:14,16.
    • Acts 10:1,2.

  3. The civil magistrate may not assume to himself the administration of the Word and sacraments; or the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven:466 yet he hath 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, administered, and observed.467 For the better effecting whereof, he hath power to call synods, to be present at them, and to provide that whatsoever is transacted in them be according to the mind of God.468

    • 466. 2 Chronicles 26:18.
    • Matthew 16:19.
    • Matthew 18:17.
    • 467. Isaiah 49:23.
    • Psalms 122:9.
    • Ezra 7:23.
    • Ezra 7:25-28.
    • 468. 2 Chronicles 19:8-11.

  4. It is the duty of the people to pray for magistrates,469 to honor their persons,470 to pay them tribute and other dues,471 to obey their lawful commands, and to be subject to their authority, for conscience' sake.472 Infidelity, or difference in religion, doth not make void the magistrate's just and legal authority, nor free the people from their obedience to him:473 from which ecclesiastical persons are not exempted;474 much less hath the Pope any power or jurisdiction over them in their dominions, or over any of their people; and least of all to deprive them of their dominions or lives, if he shall judge them to be heretics, or upon any other pretense whatsoever.475

    • 469. 1 Timothy 2:1,2.
    • 470. 1 Peter 2:17.
    • 471. Romans 13:6,7.
    • 472. Romans 13:5.
    • Titus 3:1.
    • 473. 1 Peter 2:13,14,16.
    • 474. Romans 13:1.
    • 1 Kings 2:35.
    • Acts 25:9-11.
    • 2 Peter 2:1,10,11.
    • Jude 1:8-11.
    • 475. 2 Thessalonians 2:4.
    • Revelation 13:15-17.