Concerning the magistrates’ power in the censures of the church.
The twelfth head examined.
“First,” say they, “he hath no power to execute, or to substitute any civil officer to execute, any church censure, under the notion of civil or ecclesiastical men.
“Secondly, though a magistrate may immediately civilly censure such an offender, whose secret sins are made manifest by their casting out to be injurious to the good of the state, yet such offences of excommunicate persons, which manifestly hurt not the good of the state, he ought not to proceed against them, sooner or later, until the church hath made her complaint to him, and given in their just reasons for help from them. For to give liberty to magistrates, without exception, to punish all excommunicate persons within so many months, may prove injurious to the person who needs, to the church who may desire, and to God who calls for longer indulgence from the hands of them.
“Thirdly, for persons not excommunicate, the magistrate hath no power immediately to censure such offences of the church members by the power of the sword, but only for such as do immediately hurt the peace of the state: because the proper end of civil government being the preservation of the peace and welfare of the state, they ought not to break down those bounds, and so to censure immediately for such sins which hurt not their peace.
“Hence, first, magistrates have no power to censure for secret sins, as deadness [or] unbelief, because they are secret, and not yet come forth immediately to hurt the peace of the state; we say immediately, for every sin, even original sin, remotely hurts the civil state.
“Secondly, hence they have no power to censure for such private sins in church members, which being not heinous may be best healed in a private way by the churches themselves. For that which may be best healed by the church, and yet is prosecuted by the state, may make a deeper wound and greater rent in the peace both of church and state: the magistrates also being members of the church, are bound to the rule of Christ, viz., not to produce any thing in public against a brother, which may be best healed in a private way.
“Now we call that private,
“First, which is only remaining in families, not known of others: and therefore a magistrate to hear and prosecute the complaint of children against their parents, servants against masters, wives against their husbands, without acquainting the church first, transgresseth the rule of Christ.