Accomplished Baptist Theologian John Gill writes on the matter of the responsibility of rulers as follows:
They are to discountenance and suppress impiety and irreligion; and to countenance and encourage religion and virtue; even Aristotle313 observes in his book of Politics, that the first care of government should be the care of divine things, or what relate to religion. Civil magistrates are appointed for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well; they are to discourage vice, and vicious persons; a king, by his eye, the sternness of his looks, and the frowns of his countenance, should scatter away evil, and evil men; and these being removed from him, his throne will be established in righteousness, (Prov. 20:8; 25:5). Kings are the guardians of the laws of God and man; and Christian kings have a peculiar concern with the laws of the two tables, that they are observed, and the violaters of them punished; as sins against the first table, idolatry, worshipping of more gods than one, and of graven images, blaspheming the name of God, perjury, and false swearing, and profanation of the day of worship: and those against the second table; as disobedience to parents, murder, adultery, theft, bearing false witness, &c. most of which, under the former dispensation, were capital crimes, and punishable with death; and though the punishment of them, at least not all of them, may not be inflicted with that rigour now as then; yet they are punishable in some way or another; which it is the duty of magistrates to take care of.
My take on the matter is that Gill specifically calls for Christian kings to enforce the ten commandments, but all kings to be responsible for punishing evil and rewarding good. For the latter it gets sticky because if the standard for good isn’t God’s Word, then what will it be? And we can see the result of that throughout history in pagan places. So, the best remedy is to pray as the apostle teaches us for kings and all in authority, to the end that they be Christian. The coastlands wait for God’s law. But they cannot get God’s law without God’s gospel. So may the gospel of God’s kingdom go forth, and conquer all hearts by the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit. And regardless if they are yet to love God, may every land be governed O Lord by your law of love. Amen.
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John Gill on Duty of Magisterial Responsibility
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Accomplished Baptist Theologian John Gill writes on the matter of the responsibility of rulers as follows:
Full chapter on Respective Duties of Magistrates and Subjects
My take on the matter is that Gill specifically calls for Christian kings to enforce the ten commandments, but all kings to be responsible for punishing evil and rewarding good. For the latter it gets sticky because if the standard for good isn’t God’s Word, then what will it be? And we can see the result of that throughout history in pagan places. So, the best remedy is to pray as the apostle teaches us for kings and all in authority, to the end that they be Christian. The coastlands wait for God’s law. But they cannot get God’s law without God’s gospel. So may the gospel of God’s kingdom go forth, and conquer all hearts by the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit. And regardless if they are yet to love God, may every land be governed O Lord by your law of love. Amen.