Remembering John Calvin

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 08:16:44 -0400

The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, as our name clearly indicates, is a “Reformed” and “Presbyterian” denomination. We are “Presbyterian” in our form of government: that is to say, we are led by “presbyters,” ministers of the Gospel and elders.

We are “Reformed” in our theological heritage and confessional commitments: this means that we stand joyfully with all those around the world who are the spiritual children of the apostles, the ancient church fathers (Augustine, in particular), and the Reformed branch of the Protestant Reformation. We owe a great deal to a number of the 16th century reformers: Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Bucer, John Knox, and especially John Calvin.

This month, grateful Christians worldwide will celebrate Calvin’s birthday. Born on July 10, 1509, at Noyon, in the French province of Picardy, his life is remarkably interesting. Although he left little in the way of detail about his conversion, his life is a wonderful illustration of the transforming power of the Word of God.

To learn more, a good place to begin is John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology (a symposium recently published by Ligonier). As I write, I have two brief biographies before me: The Man God Mastered, by Jean Cadier; and Calvin, by Emanuel Stickelberger.

Why should we now be taking such note of a man born 500 years ago? I can give several excellent reasons:

1. John Calvin’s name is receiving attention in the media. In a recent article in Time Magazine titled “Ten Ideas Changing the World Right Now, “The New Calvinism” is third on the list. The author, David Van Biema makes two observations. One: it is significant that Calvin and his influence are the topics of discussion now – in a society increasingly detached from the Christian faith. Two: we can give thanks that “our reformer” is speaking again with such persuasive vigor, largely through Baptists and Independents (John Piper, Mark Driscoll, and Albert Mohler; John MacArthur’s name should be added), while lamenting the theological and moral decline so obvious among many of Calvin’s lineal descendents in the historic Presbyterian denominations.

2. There is a profound sense in which John Calvin must be regarded as one of the fathers of constitutional government. While he firmly opposed popular uprisings, he developed ideas which were revolutionary and, in the course of time, proved enormously influential in the overthrow of tyranny in the Netherlands (under William of Orange), in England (the Parliamentary struggle against Charles I during the 1640s), and in the American Revolution. He did this in a few paragraphs, found in the last pages of his Institutes of the Christian Religion.

3. Calvin’s commentaries—on most of the Old and New Testaments—show him to have been learned, wise, faithful to the Scriptures, humble in dealing with difficult passages, and free from bondage to any ideological preconceptions. When I was a student, I somehow found the means for acquiring the 45 volumes of his commentaries. I never regretted the outlay, and the books have been within easy reach of my desk ever since.

4. Calvin was a mighty preacher of the Word of God. We have evidence of this in the translations of his sermons now available. One of our own ministers, Dr. Rob Roy McGregor, is the translator of Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles (2008) and Sermons on Genesis 1:1-11:1-4 (2009). For many years Calvin preached every Lord’s Day, and every day of alternate weeks. With multiple illnesses and physical frailty, his vast correspondence, his three weekly lectures to theological students, his administration of the church in Geneva, and much more, then one can only be amazed that he could accomplish so much in a single, relatively brief lifetime. In every meaning of the word, he was a gracious gift from God to the Christian church.

5. I cannot close without referring to his magnum opus, the Institutes of the Christian Religion, first published as a relatively small book in 1536 and then expanded in the course of time until 1559, when the magnificent fourth edition was sent into the world. By any standard, this incomparable book is among a handful of the most influential treatises ever written in the long history of the Christian church. Every theological student and Presbyterian minister should possess a copy, and read it! Others will profit from it as well and find that Calvin’s grand survey of Christian doctrine is surprisingly accessible.

On May 27, 1564, John Calvin fell asleep. He was buried simply, by his own directive, in an unmarked grave. “Thus died without glory the man who throughout all his life had proclaimed that to God alone belongs all the glory” (Cadier)

ARPMagazine.org

Remembering John Calvin