THE most frequent pretext of sedition and civil war in Christian Commonwealths hath a long time proceeded from a difficulty,not yet sufficiently resolved,of obeying at once both God and man then when their commandments are one contrary to the other.It is manifest enough that when a man receiveth two contrary commands,and knows that one of them is God's,he ought to obey that,and not the other,though it be the command even of his lawful sovereign (whether a monarch or a sovereign assembly),or the command of his father.The difficulty therefore consisteth in this,that men,when they are commanded in the name of God,know not in diverse cases whether the command be from God,or whether he that commandeth do but abuse God's name for some private ends of his own.For as there were in the Church of the Jews many false prophets that sought reputation with the people by feigned dreams and visions;so there have been in all times,in the Church of Christ,false teachers that seek reputation with the people by fantastical and false doctrines;and by such reputation,as is the nature of ambition,to govern them for their private benefit.
But this difficulty of obeying both God and the civil sovereign on earth,to those that can distinguish between what is necessary and what is not necessary for their reception into the kingdom of God,is of no moment.For if the command of the civil sovereign be such as that it may be obeyed without the forfeiture of life eternal,not to obey it is unjust;and the precept of the apostle takes place:
"Servants,obey your masters in all things";and "Children,obey your parents in all things";and the precept of our Saviour,"The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses'chair;all therefore they shall say,that observe,and do."But if the command be such as cannot be obeyed,without being damned to eternal death,then it were madness to obey it,and the counsel of our Saviour takes place,"Fear not those that kill the body,but cannot kill the soul."All men therefore that would avoid both the punishments that are to be in this world inflicted for disobedience to their earthly sovereign,and those that shall be inflicted in the world to come for disobedience to God,have need be taught to distinguish well between what is,and what is not,necessary to eternal salvation.
All that is necessary to salvation is contained in two virtues,faith in Christ,and obedience to laws.The latter of these,if it were perfect,were enough to us.But because we are all guilty of disobedience to God's law,not only originally in Adam,but also actually by our own transgressions,there is required at our hands now,not only obedience for the rest of our time,but also a remission of sins for the time past;which remission is the reward of our faith in Christ.That nothing else is necessarily required to salvation is manifest from this,that the kingdom of heaven is shut to none but to sinners;that is to say,to the disobedient,or transgressors of the law;nor to them,in case they repent,and believe all the articles of Christian faith necessary to salvation.
The obedience required at our hands by God,that accepteth in all our actions the will for the deed,is a serious endeavour to obey Him;and is called also by all such names as signify that endeavour.And therefore obedience is sometimes called by the names of charity and love,because they imply a will to obey;and our Saviour himself maketh our love to God,and to one another,a fulfilling of the whole law;and sometimes by the name of righteousness,for righteousness is but the will to give to every one his own,that is to say,the will to obey the laws;and sometimes by the name of repentance,because to repent implieth a turning away from sin,which is the same with the return of the will to obedience.
Whosoever therefore unfeignedly desireth to fulfil the commandments of God,or repenteth him truly of his transgressions,or that loveth God with all his heart,and his neighbour as himself,hath all the obedience necessary to his reception into the kingdom of God:for if God should require perfect innocence,there could no flesh be saved.
But what commandments are those that God hath given us?Are all those laws which were given to the Jews by the hand of Moses the commandments of God?If they be,why are not Christians taught to obey them?If they be not,what others are so,besides the law of nature?
For our Christ hath not given us new laws,but counsel to observe those we are subject to;that is to say,the laws of nature,and the laws of our several sovereigns:nor did he make any new law to the Jews in his Sermon on the Mount,but only expounded the laws of Moses,to which they were subject before.The laws of God therefore are none but the laws of nature,whereof the principal is that we should not violate our faith,that is,a commandment to obey our civil sovereigns,which we constituted over us by mutual pact one with another.And this law of God,that commandeth obedience to the law civil,commandeth by consequence obedience to all the precepts of the Bible;which,as I have proved in the precedent chapter,is there only law where the civil sovereign hath made it so;and in other places but counsel,which a man at his own peril may without injustice refuse to obey.