Chapter. 3. Handling the second Doctrine; which is.
believe that it brings greater glory to use that power to restrain their own passion rather than to seek revenge against those who oppose them. You may think that making others yield to you is an impressive feat, but those who have authority over others should understand that it is a greater honour to use that authority to govern their own emotions rather than to force others to submit to it.
Philip II, the King of Spain, was engrossed in an important task of writing a letter to the Pope. Due to the urgency, he stayed up all night to complete it. While his secretary, who was half asleep, stood by,
Philip instructed him to throw some sand on the letter. However, in his drowsy state, the secretary mistakenly poured ink on it. Despite being crossed, the king simply put it away and did not make a fuss about it. How shameful it is then for Christians to be so vengeful!
When someone named Cradon spoke ill of Philip, some advised him to seek revenge. However, Philip sent him many gifts and spoke highly of him. When asked about what Cradon had said, the response was, "No man spoke better of me." To which Philip replied, "I am a better physician than you." Such behavior is commendable in anyone.
And this concludes the first point: that the wrath of wicked men, when they have power, is very fierce and outrageous.
Chapter 3:
Handling the second Doctrine
Doct. 2. That Faith helps against the immoderate fear of people in authority, or any creature.
First: The godly should have, and indeed do have, respectful and reverent regard for all those in authority. Though they may not fear the wrath of the king or anyone in authority when it comes to matters concerning God, truly righteous and godly individuals give due reverence to them in their personhood and in their authority and power. While they are not cowardly afraid to yield to anything against God or their conscience, they are the people in the world who show the most honour and respect towards authority.
Secondly: Their actions are grounded in good reasons. They do it out of conscience and submit to authority more than others do. They do not entertain ill thoughts about authority in their secret minds. They see the image of God upon those in authority, not for their own sake.
Thirdly: Their fear of authority is of a noble kind. They do it willingly and cheerfully, not out of coercion, but because it is the will of God.
It aligns with the disposition of their souls to do so. While naturally no one desires to be under another's authority, it is congruous with grace to be in such a position. Therefore, there are no subjects more respectful of authority than the godly, if properly understood.
Religion has often been scandalized throughout history, accusing its followers of contempt towards authority and failing to show proper fear towards it. Pharaoh claimed that they would rebel against him, and similar accusations were made in Nehemiah's time. Even Justus
Martyr and Tertullian had to make apologies for Christians to demonstrate that no one was more obedient to authority than they were.
Tertullian made a notable statement in his apology: "Why do you not consider us obedient to authority? Is it because we refuse to worship idols and pray to idols for your governors? Yet, we pray to the true
God for your governors." Similarly, people today, because they will not submit their consciences in an unlawful manner and seek the honour of authority through illicit means, are deemed to be not subject to authority. However, the truth is that no one is more truly subject to men than those who are obedient to God.
And so we read of Constantius, who took this approach to identify his true subjects: he proclaimed that anyone who refused to worship idols would be banished from the court, while those who complied could stay. Some, rather than leaving the court and being banished, chose to sacrifice to idols, while others left the court. In response,
Constantius chose those who left the court and banished the others, saying, "If you are not faithful to God, you will not be faithful to me."
Can anyone truly submit to a Justice of the Peace if they refuse to yield to the King? If they submit to the lower authority, they will submit to the higher authority. Therefore, those who submit to authority on proper grounds do so because they are subject to the authority of God. In fact, there can be no trust in anyone to be faithful to authority except those who are godly. A notable example is that of Homizda, a prominent figure in the court of the King of Persia. The king tried persuading him to abandon the Christian faith using flattering arguments and urging him to sacrifice to idols.
Homizda responded, "O King, do not be so eloquent to your own destruction. Who would consider someone faithful to man if they are not faithful to God? If we do not obey the authority of God, how can we be obedient to you?" Therefore, the godly give due and reverent respect to authority, even though they do not fear any authority in