John Calvin, Commentary on Zechariah 13:3 “And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall… Read More The Death Penalty for Heresy | John Calvin
The judicial law of Israel, the laws whose subject matter concerned Israel as a civil body, is expired with the state of that people and is no longer binding except for its general equity (WCF 19:4). “Proper law” (lex propria) recognizes the authority of magistrates to make positive human laws based upon the moral law of God… Read More Lex Propria – Proper Law
Reformed Theology has always held that God’s Law is best understood as having a threefold division, some being moral, some ceremonial, and some judicial. Chapter 19 of the Westminster Confession explains this threefold division. The moral law, summarily comprehended in the 10 commandments (WLC 98), is rooted in God’s character as well as the created… Read More The Judicial Law: General Equity vs. Particular Equity
Wholesome Severity Reconciled with Christian Liberty It will be asked, “But how does it appear that these or any other judicial laws of Moses do at all appertain to us, as rules to guide us in like cases?” I shall wish him who scruples this, to read Piscator’s appendix to his observations upon the 21-23… Read More The Civil Magistrate’s Duty to Punish Sins Against the Moral Law | George Gillespie
Purely Presbyterian 