Oaths, the Civil Magistrate, and Marriage
Survey the Confession's teaching on lawful oaths and vows, the office of the civil magistrate, and the ordinance of marriage as parts of an ordered Christian life in the world.
The Confession addresses how believers live truthfully, under authority, and in covenant with one another. Oaths, government, and marriage are God's ordinances for human society, each to be used as Scripture directs.
Lawful oaths and vows
A lawful oath is part of religious worship in which a person, on just occasion, solemnly calls God to witness what he asserts or promises. It is to be taken only in truth, in righteousness, and in the name of God alone, never lightly or rashly, and it binds even when made to our own hurt. To swear vainly or falsely is to profane God's holy name.
A vow is of like nature, made to God alone and to be performed with care and faithfulness. The Confession warns against vows beyond our ability or contrary to God's Word, and rejects monastic vows of perpetual single life and the like as superstitious snares rather than acts of true devotion.
The civil magistrate
God, the supreme Lord and King of all the world, has ordained civil magistrates under Him for His own glory and the public good, arming them with the power of the sword for the defence and encouragement of the good and the punishment of evildoers. The office itself is good and lawful, and Christians may be called to serve in it.
Subjects owe the magistrate honour, prayer, obedience in lawful things, and submission to authority, which is not dissolved by the magistrate's unbelief or difference in religion. The Confession thus upholds ordered government while reserving final obedience for God, whose Word remains supreme over every earthly power.
The ordinance of marriage
Marriage is between one man and one woman, instituted by God for the mutual help of husband and wife, the increase of mankind by a lawful seed, and the prevention of uncleanness. It is to be entered in the Lord, within the bounds of nearness of kindred that the Word forbids, and ordinarily with those who hold the true religion.
By treating marriage as a divine ordinance rather than a mere private arrangement, the Confession dignifies the home and orders it under God's law. Its ends serve both the good of the partners and the building of families in which the faith may be nurtured from one generation to the next.
Study the full text, Scripture proofs, and commentary on each:
- Read WCF chapter 22 (sections 112-118) and note when an oath is lawful and what makes it sinful.
- Compare sections 119-122 on the magistrate's authority with the limits the Confession sets on obedience.
- Examine the ends of marriage in section 123 and the cautions of sections 124-125 about whom one may marry.
See how this doctrine is stated across the Reformed confessions side by side.
Oaths, the Civil Magistrate, and Marriage →