Sermon to the House of Commons January 1649

Preached before Parliament on a day of solemn humiliation, this work pairs the sermon itself with an extended discourse on toleration. Owen dismantles the biblical and historical arguments for coercing religious conformity — examining Old Testament penal laws, church history's record of persecution, and the proper limits of civil authority in matters of faith. He argues that magistrates are bound to protect and maintain the Gospel, yet have no scriptural warrant to punish men merely for religious error. A landmark early statement of principled religious liberty from within the Reformed tradition.