SECTION VII. 95 If any person sins so grossly against the plain rules of the gospel, or the laws of God or Christ, as to appear to renounce the characters of aChristian, the church bath power only to re,. pounce such a person, and disclaim all christian fellowship with him, and turn him into the world, which is the kingdom of Satan, till he repent : But they have no authority to hurt his life or limbs ; to touch a hair of his head, nor a pennyof, his money, by way of punishment. IV. By such sort of churches as these, christianity is more easily maintained in single and secret assemblies, if the powers of this world favour them not ; for there is no need of large multitudes assembling together for any ordinances of worship, or for discipline; no need of any such public appearances or trans- actions, as may give any unnecessary umbrage or suspicion m persecuting enemies : There is no need of councils and synods of ministers of distant cities, to meet together to make laws for the church, or to rectify disorders there : Nor is there any need to travel over largecounties or dioceses, tofetch a rightful ordination of a minister for any church : much less to take a journey to Rome, if all the ministers in a nation were dead, or departed from the faith. If the whole society, which was wont to meet together, cannot do it under a, persecuting prince, for fear of ex- posing themselves to public injury, they may assemble in smaller parties, and their preachers may teach, and pray, and administer all ordinances among them, as it was often done in the primitive times, maintaining their christian fellowship by secret meetings and they may all be called little churches, in the house. By such single congregations, larger or smaller, was the whole church of Christ in the world continued and increased, the first two or three hundred years, whensoever the powers of this world took it into their heads to persecute and destroy the professors of the christian faith. Perhaps it may be objected here, would it not be a much more substantial and powerful way of maintaining christian churches, if these single congregations, by virtue of their minis- ters or elders, were combined together in some sacred bond of union, that might make a considerable body of people under such heads or leaders, or under one supreme head, whomight better defend them against the invasion of their rites by any secular powers or persecutingprinces ? To this I answer, that churches of Christ considered as such, have no secular power in themselves, nor authority to make any efforts against secular powers: But when men become Chris- tians, or members of churches, they do not divest themselves of any secular or civil rights or powers which they had before : And therefore when natural or civil liberties are unjustly and cruelly invaded by any of the men of this world, they by the laws of
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