Page:The Net of Faith.pdf/513



The third peculiarity with which the civil law and the administration of pagan kings compares unfaforablyunfavorably [sic] with the law of the gospel consists in the fact that civil law and rulers compel against the people's will.

The temporal power is called sovereignty be cause it has the authority to enforce; even when it desires (the common) good without which the world could not stand together, it does so by. The temporal authority can do so only because the sovereignty of God suffers it in order to keep the world together. If God should desire it, he could wipe out the whole world on account of its iniquity and all the kings of the earth (put together) with their combined sovereignties could not prevent it! Therefore Jesus Christ who is the sovereign of his people requires from them the sovereignty of goodness. And his sovereign goodness is so perfect that he does not even compel his people to be good. Does he not say,

Matt. 16:24.

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