Wesley Corpus

Upon the whole, we agree that Christ is the only ‘supreme Judge and Lawgiver in the Church’: I may add, and in the world; for ‘there is no power,’ no secular power, ‘but of God’ -- of God who ‘was manifested in the flesh, who is over all, blessed for ever.’ But we do not at all agree in the inference which you would draw therefrom -- namely, that there is no subordinate judge or lawgiver in the Church. You may just as well infer that there is no subordinate judge or lawgiver in the world. Yea, there is, both in the one and the other. And in obeying these subordinate powers we do not, as you aver, renounce the Supreme; no, but we obey them for His sake. We believe it is not only innocent but our bounden duty so to do; in all things of an indifferent nature to submit ourselves ‘to every ordinance of man’; and that ‘for the Lord's sake,’ because we think He has not forbidden but expressly commanded it. Therefore ‘as a genuine fruit of our allegiance to Christ’ we submit both to the King and governors sent by him, so far as possibly we can, without breaking some plain command of God. And you have not yet brought any plain command to justify that assertion that ‘we may not submit either to the King or to governors sent by him in any circumstance relating to the worship of God.’ Here is a plain declaration: ‘There is no power but of God; the powers that exist are ordained of God. Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power’ (without an absolute necessity, which in things indifferent there is not), ‘resisteth the ordinance of God.’ And here is a plain command grounded thereon: ‘Let every soul be subject to the higher powers.’ Now, by what scripture does it appear that we are not to be subject in anything pertaining to the worship of God This is an exception which we cannot possibly allow without clear warrant from Holy Writ. And we apprehend those of the Church of Rome alone can decently plead for such an exception. It does not sound well in the mouth of a Protestant to claim an exemption- from the jurisdiction of the civil powers in all matters of religion and in the minutest circumstance relating to the Church.