NOTICE:
I
will post a quote from a Christian in favor of capital punishment every fortnight.
QUOTE: John Calvin commentary on
Romans 13 verse 4: For he is God’s minister for
good, etc. Magistrates may hence learn what
their vocation is, for they are not to rule for their own interest, but for the
public good; nor are they endued with unbridled power, but what is restricted
to the wellbeing of their subjects; in short, they are responsible to God and
to men in the exercise of their power. For as they are deputed by God and do
his business, they must give an account to him: and then the ministration which
God has committed to them has a regard to the subjects, they are therefore
debtors also to them. And private men are reminded, that it is through the
divine goodness that they are defended by the sword of princes against injuries
done by the wicked.
For they bear not the sword in vain, etc. It is another part of
the office of magistrates, that they ought forcibly to repress the waywardness
of evil men, who do not willingly suffer themselves to be governed by laws, and
to inflict such punishment on their offenses as God’s judgment requires; for he
expressly declares, that they are armed with the sword, not for an empty show,
but that they may smite evil-doers.
And then he says, An avenger, to
execute wrath, “a revenger to execute wrath,” Com. Ver., Doddridge;
“a revenger for wrath,” Hammond. Wrath is here taken to mean punishment, by Luther,
Beza, Grotius, Mede, etc. see Romans 2:5; Romans 3:5; Romans 4:15.
The phrase then might be rendered, “condemning to punishment the doer of evil.”
There is a contrast between “for wrath” and “for good” at the beginning of the
verse. — This is the same as if it had been said, that he is an executioner of
God’s wrath; and this he shows himself to be by having the sword, which the
Lord has delivered into his hand. This is a remarkable passage for the purpose
of proving the right of the sword; for if the Lord, by arming the magistrate,
has also committed to him the use of the sword, whenever he visits the guilty
with death, by executing God’s vengeance, he obeys his commands. Contend then
do they with God who think it unlawful to shed the blood of wicked men.
AUTHOR: John Calvin (Middle French: Jean Cauvin) (10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564)
was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant
Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of
Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist
lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530. After religious
tensions provoked a violent uprising against Protestants in France, Calvin fled
to Basel, Switzerland, where in 1536 he published the first edition of his
seminal work Institutes of the Christian Religion.
No comments:
Post a Comment