Digest of Biblical Civil Law

The Bible does not permit the use of force to resolve disputes (Exo. 21:18-19), except where force is lawfully exercised by God's ordained officer, the civil magistrate. To put it another way, the Bible requires men to submit to arbitration, and categorically prohibits them from taking their own personal vengeance (Rom. 12:17-13:7).
- James Jordan, The Law of the Covenant 110 (1984), at http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/:  HTML, DjVu.