OF REFORMING

...religion to a false and erroneous worship of God. An example is Jeroboam, King of the Israelites, who abandoned the worship that was to be performed at Jerusalem by God’s command, ordering his subjects to worship golden calves outside that city, and even choosing priests from the common people original: "ex plebe"; Jeroboam famously bypassed the tribe of Levi to appoint priests who would be loyal to his new state religion against God’s mandate. (1 Kings 12:26-31).

§. XVI. However, although subjects ought to obey their Prince when he commands something that is indeed a sin on his part, but can be done by them without sinning—just as Joab, when King David from the pride of his heart ordered him to count the people, first tried to dissuade him, but because he could not persuade him, he obeyed (1 Chronicles 22:3-4 The author cites chapter 22, but the story of David’s census and Joab’s protest is found in 1 Chronicles 21)—nevertheless, subjects ought not to obey when a Prince orders something to be done which cannot be committed by them without sin; for one must obey God rather than men, because He is superior. And this is true not only in secular matters original: "rebus profanis" but also in sacred ones. Therefore, if a Prince commands that subjects follow a false religion, they nevertheless must not follow it. (Exodus 1:16-21; 2 Chronicles 11:16; Daniel 3:9-28; Daniel 6:12-13; Acts 4:19; Acts 5:29).

§. XVII. But if subjects do obey and follow a false religion proposed by a Prince, not only does the Prince sin, but they also sin and are punished, which can be seen in the case of Jeroboam and his subjects who followed his will. For both the King’s lineage was destroyed, and the subjects from the bor-