A
συνεργός
in this area created an open
Facebook group with the intention of encouraging people to read all of John Calvin's
The Institutes of the Christian Religion in a year. This group both surprised and encouraged me because I had already been planning on reading through the Institutes this year but as is the case for so much of what I do, I felt this would be something I did alone. So I was quite happy to discover this was not the case and even happier by the prospect that such a group just might keep me accountable in this endeavor.
Shortly after I began to read I had the thought, "you could blog about this." Well, maybe. This blog has become for me an enigma: how should I handle it? When there are prayers that need said, Scripture that needs read, shut-ins that need visited and a personal life that needs attended too (perhaps not in the righteous picture I just painted) should I maintain this blog? Of course I have things to say; but so does that annoying dog I hear barking when I'm out walking. The simple existence of having something to say doesn't necessarily mean that one then needs to share it with others. But, sinfully (or not) the thought came to me that I could blog about it and it didn't go away.
I prayed about it and did not receive any clear direction.
I considered not doing it because it would be "legalistic" to blog every week. But then I reminded myself, so long as I don't think this will somehow help me be saved, it isn't actually legalism. Rather, it would be commitment and commitment is something far too few Christians (regrettably I include myself here) possess.
One of my resolutions for 2013 was to severely limit my time online (EPIC fail this first week out of the gate :( ) So...what follows was typed in word and simply copied and pasted into blogger. My apologies if there is something wrong with the formatting...
John
Calvin to the Reader (1559)
In this short address, John Calvin demonstrates two
remarkable aspects of his faith.
All of the success he had experienced
with the Institutes in the more than 20 years since their first publication
Calvin attributes solely to God.
2.
When he was sick (near death) with a
form of malaria, he made all the more effort to work!
Finally, Calvin ends with a fantastic quote by
Augustine: “I count myself one of the number of those who write as they learn
and learn as they write.”
Subject
Matter of the Present Work
John Calvin was a man consumed with a desire to
instruct people in the authentic Christian faith. He undertook to write the
Institutes in the lingua franca of the time, Latin. But as a French refugee
living in Geneva, having had to flee his native France due to his faith,
Calvin’s heart was always for his French countrymen (9). So in a way, remarkable
(perhaps?) like Luther’s translation of Scripture into the common German,
Calvin also translated the Institutes into French. Additionally, he addressed
every edition of his work to the French King. Finally, Calvin invites
disagreement but urges that all those who disagree “have recourse to Scripture
in order to weigh the testimonies that I adduce from it.” (8)
And really Scripture is in many ways what the
Institutes is all about. Calvin makes it clear that he is providing “a key to
open a way for all children of God into a good and right understanding of Holy
Scripture.” (7)
Prefatory
Address to King Francis I of France
Calvin begins his defense of the faith in his
prefatory address to his king. In doing
so, Calvin introduces a Reformed understanding of government: “Now, that king
who in ruling over his realm does not serve God’s glory exercises not kingly
rule but brigandage. Furthermore, he is deceived who looks for enduring
prosperity in his kingdom when it is not ruled by God’s scepter, that is, his
Holy Word…” (12). From there, he introduces a short summary of the gospel: that
there is nothing within humans of which they can boast and that “whereby we
have been received into hope of eternal salvation through no merit of our
own….” (12). Calvin anticipates the normal response to an honest evaluation of
human nature, that we misrepresent humans because human beings are
fundamentally good. He then attacks the root of that flawed argument by
pointing out that those who disagree “cannot bear that the whole praise and
glory of all goodness, virtue and righteousness, and wisdom should rest with
God.”
And in this point lies the heart of Reformed
theology and all other flawed teachings: is God alone deserving of our praise or not?
Calvin proceeds from there to dedicate a bit of time
to reinforcing the idea that the Reformers were teaching nothing new. He states
quite clearly that the gospel as presented by the Protestants is in line with
Scripture and the church fathers. This is an important point; as Calvin puts
it: “by calling it ‘new’ they do great wrong to God, whose Sacred Word does not
deserve to be accused of novelty. Indeed, I do not at all doubt that it is new
to them, since to them both Christ himself and his gospel are new.” (15-16) It
logically follows that if one cannot depend on the Word of God to spur worship
they will grasp at heretical straws and so Calvin concludes, “They invite no
one to faith in Christ and believing communion of the sacraments; rather, they
put their work on sale, as the grace and merit of Christ.” (21)
Interestingly enough, Calvin embarks on a discussion
of Satan roaring like a lion in this world, opposing the pure doctrine of God.
What is interesting is Calvin’s description of how Satan works (28) follows
many of the same patterns of the Screwtape Letters. Though C.S. Lewis seemed to
despise (from a mistaken understanding) Calvinism, I think they had far more in
common than Lewis ever dreamed.
General
Conclusions…
Generally
speaking none of us manage our time well. Jonathan Edwards, at the ripe age of
either 18 or 19 resolved that he should “never to lose one moment of time; but
improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.” He was also resolved “never
to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my
life.”
Yet nowadays, we do not live in this way. Rather, we
live as though our time was infinite—we have all the time in the world. What we
don’t get to today will be waiting for us tomorrow. Over and against that, and
especially convicting if you happen to call on the name of Christ, Calvin was
resolved to work all the more determinedly when he thought he was going to die.
So often when I am sick I follow the protocol of rest. I think I am not alone
in this rule of thumb. Yet John Calvin followed his faith and desire to always
serve the Lord while he could even when he was near death.
How we use our time is a reflection of our faith and
devotion to God.
How do you spend
your time?
Generally, churches can lose their mission and focus
when they either construct a building or become overly proud/protective of their
building. Reinforcing his (correct) belief that the true church has always
existed no matter how things may appear Calvin points out a dependence on the
visual can become a sin. Quoting Hilary of Poitiers Calvin writes, “One thing I
admonish you, beware of Antichrist. It is wrong that a love of walls has seized
you; wrong that you venerate the church of God in roofs and buildings; wrong
that beneath these you introduce the name of peace. Is there any doubt that Antichrist
will have his seat in them?”
I wonder how many parishioners “love” their building
walls and “venerate the church of God in roofs and buildings”? Our weak demands
for something concrete to believe in can literally be our downfall.
Speaking of appearances, it is comforting to
remember the story of Elijah (1st Kings 10). Calvin reminds us that
the true church has always existed since Christ called it into being because
Christ still reigns (25). Our hope and glory, our strength, our ability to do “all
things” rests in the simple yet profound fact that Christ reigns in glory.
Despite all appearances, despite the leaders of the world assembling against
the Lord’s anointed, the one enthroned in heaven…is still enthroned in heaven. May
that comfort you as it comforted me.
Finally, Calvin points out that the Word of God is
unpopular; only Satan’s lies gain the popular approval. “This is the surest and
most trustworthy mark to distinguish it from lying doctrines, which readily
present themselves, are received with attentive ears by all, and are listened
to by an applauding world.” (28) If what is presented in the pulpit is accepted
by everyone, then odds are you are only presenting them with exactly what they
wanted in the first place (Romans 1.24).
Specific
Conclusions…
Specifically, several points really struck a nerve.
But one in particular I wish to address. Near the end of his prefatory Calvin
writes, “And we have not, by God’s grace, profited so little by the gospel that
our life may not be for these disparagers an example of chastity, generosity,
mercy, continence, patience, modesty and all other virtues.” (30)
I am often aware simply by driving around that I
live in a region where many dwell in mobile homes while I live in a home, and a
large one at that. While the church owns this manse my wife and I are very conscious
of the fact that this house is larger than anything we ever dreamed of actually
owning. I strive to not take such blessings for granted.
Nevertheless, there is an undercurrent to what John is
saying: the pastor’s life must at all times be in line with his faith. While
this is true for all Christians, no one more so than a pastor can harm a church
if their life does not match their faith. This is something I am always
seeking, by God’s grace, to do: “Count everything as loss
because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I
have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I
may gain Christ 9 and
be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law,
but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that
depends on faith— 10 that
I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings,
becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the
resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3.8-11 ESV)
Especially
with the New Year just past may I use this time wisely and always be found in him.
