It’s John Calvin’s 500th birthday today. I think Calvin is such a compelling figure. Why?
(1) Calvin’s Theology
Dr. J. I. Packer describes Calvin as “the finest exegete, the greatest systematic theologian, and the profoundest religious thinker that the Reformation produced. Bible-centered in his teaching, God-centered in his living, and Christ-centered in his faith, he integrated the confessional emphases of Reformation thought – by faith alone, by Scripture alone, by grace alone, by Christ alone, for God’s glory alone – with supreme clarity and strength.”
The structure of Calvin’s theology hinged on one great conviction: God is all! On this premise, he penned The Institutes of the Christian Religion (which, by the way, only accounts for 6.8% of his total literary output – amazing!). It consists of four books: (1) the revealed truth about God the Creator, and our need for that revelation; (2) the revealed truth about Christ the Mediator, and our need for Him; (3) the revealed truth about the grace of Christ, and the salvation He brings through the Holy Spirit; and (4) the revealed truth about the means of grace, given in the church, and what is involved in using them. Since 1536, when it was first published, The Institutes has been one of the most influential doctrinal statements within Protestantism.
(2) Calvin’s Piety
In his First Catechism, Calvin writes, “True piety consists… in a sincere feeling which loves God as Father as much as it fears and reverences Him as Lord, embraces His righteousness, and dreads offending Him worse than death. And whoever has been endowed with this piety dare not fashion out of their own rashness any God for themselves. Rather, they seek from Him the knowledge of the true God, and conceive Him just as He shows and declares Himself to be.”
Clearly, for Calvin, true piety is affective piety. He confirms this in The Institutes, stating, “Here indeed is pure and real religion: faith so joined with an earnest fear of God that this fear also embraces willing reverence, and carries with it such legitimate worship as is prescribed in the law.” It’s the impression of God’s greatness and goodness upon the soul. It’s a sensible (or inclinational) knowledge of God that’s summed up in Augustine’s cry, “How sweet was it to me on a sudden to be without these sweet vanities! You, Lord, who are the true sweetness, did take them from me and enter in yourself, who is more pleasant than all pleasure, and more clear than all light.”
(3) Calvin’s Ministry
Calvin suffered from kidney stones, for which his doctor prescribed horseback riding. Can you imagine? He suffered from hemorrhoids, which would have made the horseback riding unbearable. He suffered from a spastic colon, asthma, and gout. He suffered from severe indigestion. It was so bad that he could only eat one meal per day. He suffered from tuberculosis. On one occasion, he spit up so much blood that he had to spend the next eight months in bed. He suffered from debilitating migraines. In a word, Calvin was a physical wreck. Often times, the church elders carried him in a chair from his bed to the pulpit, so that he could preach. Yet, despite his physical ailments, he accomplished so much in his relatively short lifetime. He preached every other day. He carried on mass correspondence with Christian leaders throughout Europe. He wrote numerous books and treatises. “He was intense in the service of the Lord, to whom he had given his heart fully” (Unknown).
Summary
As we remember this man of God, we would do well to heed the words of Theodore Beza: “Since it has pleased God that Calvin should continue to speak to us through his writings, which are so scholarly and full of godliness, it is up to future generations to go on listening to him until the end of the world, so that they might see our God as he truly is and live and reign with him for all eternity.”
Quotable: “Here indeed is pure and real religion: faith so joined with an earnest fear of God that this fear also embraces willing reverence, and carries with it such legitimate worship as is prescribed in the law” (John Calvin).
(1) Calvin’s Theology
Dr. J. I. Packer describes Calvin as “the finest exegete, the greatest systematic theologian, and the profoundest religious thinker that the Reformation produced. Bible-centered in his teaching, God-centered in his living, and Christ-centered in his faith, he integrated the confessional emphases of Reformation thought – by faith alone, by Scripture alone, by grace alone, by Christ alone, for God’s glory alone – with supreme clarity and strength.”
The structure of Calvin’s theology hinged on one great conviction: God is all! On this premise, he penned The Institutes of the Christian Religion (which, by the way, only accounts for 6.8% of his total literary output – amazing!). It consists of four books: (1) the revealed truth about God the Creator, and our need for that revelation; (2) the revealed truth about Christ the Mediator, and our need for Him; (3) the revealed truth about the grace of Christ, and the salvation He brings through the Holy Spirit; and (4) the revealed truth about the means of grace, given in the church, and what is involved in using them. Since 1536, when it was first published, The Institutes has been one of the most influential doctrinal statements within Protestantism.
(2) Calvin’s Piety
In his First Catechism, Calvin writes, “True piety consists… in a sincere feeling which loves God as Father as much as it fears and reverences Him as Lord, embraces His righteousness, and dreads offending Him worse than death. And whoever has been endowed with this piety dare not fashion out of their own rashness any God for themselves. Rather, they seek from Him the knowledge of the true God, and conceive Him just as He shows and declares Himself to be.”
Clearly, for Calvin, true piety is affective piety. He confirms this in The Institutes, stating, “Here indeed is pure and real religion: faith so joined with an earnest fear of God that this fear also embraces willing reverence, and carries with it such legitimate worship as is prescribed in the law.” It’s the impression of God’s greatness and goodness upon the soul. It’s a sensible (or inclinational) knowledge of God that’s summed up in Augustine’s cry, “How sweet was it to me on a sudden to be without these sweet vanities! You, Lord, who are the true sweetness, did take them from me and enter in yourself, who is more pleasant than all pleasure, and more clear than all light.”
(3) Calvin’s Ministry
Calvin suffered from kidney stones, for which his doctor prescribed horseback riding. Can you imagine? He suffered from hemorrhoids, which would have made the horseback riding unbearable. He suffered from a spastic colon, asthma, and gout. He suffered from severe indigestion. It was so bad that he could only eat one meal per day. He suffered from tuberculosis. On one occasion, he spit up so much blood that he had to spend the next eight months in bed. He suffered from debilitating migraines. In a word, Calvin was a physical wreck. Often times, the church elders carried him in a chair from his bed to the pulpit, so that he could preach. Yet, despite his physical ailments, he accomplished so much in his relatively short lifetime. He preached every other day. He carried on mass correspondence with Christian leaders throughout Europe. He wrote numerous books and treatises. “He was intense in the service of the Lord, to whom he had given his heart fully” (Unknown).
Summary
As we remember this man of God, we would do well to heed the words of Theodore Beza: “Since it has pleased God that Calvin should continue to speak to us through his writings, which are so scholarly and full of godliness, it is up to future generations to go on listening to him until the end of the world, so that they might see our God as he truly is and live and reign with him for all eternity.”
Quotable: “Here indeed is pure and real religion: faith so joined with an earnest fear of God that this fear also embraces willing reverence, and carries with it such legitimate worship as is prescribed in the law” (John Calvin).
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