May 31, 2015 · 5:00 pm

Week 22 of 50 in the Institutes: The Vomit of the Soul

I can recall the events that occurred in music class as if they were yesterday, which is pretty remarkable considering how long ago they occurred.  I was in third grade, and not feeling very well.  Paying attention was difficult because of the nauseous feeling that had been coming on steadily.  Then immediately after our teacher said, “Turn to page . . . (whatever it was)”, that was it.  I vomited, right there, all over the floor in music class.  I ran to the restroom immediately afterwards, but that was all there was.  So I went back to the classroom.  Our teacher had left to fetch the janitor, and all of my classmates were huddled over in the far corner of the room.  No one wanted to come near me then (can you blame them?), despite my confessing to them that “I feel much better now,” as we waited for the janitor to come and tidy up the place.  Of course, the school called my mother and I was sent home for the rest of the day.

That episode from my childhood came to mind while reading tomorrow’s assignment in the Institutes (3.4.12), along with one Puritan’s assertion that “repentance is the vomit of the soul” (was it Thomas Brooks or Thomas Watson who said that?).

Vomiting is not something a person really likes to do in public.  I have never invited an audience to join me in the bathroom whenever I have a stomach virus, for instance, and I would have preferred much less company that day in music class, of all places!  So likening repentance to “the vomit of the soul” helps convey a sense of how humiliating and humbling it is, especially when it comes to confession, which is just one crucial aspect of repentance.

Whenever the Spirit is at work convicting of sin and working true repentance, there is this inevitable desire to confess that sin at least to God, and sometimes to men.  This is what Calvin sets before us in 3.4.12:

Let every believer, therefore, remember, that if in private he is so agonized and afflicted by a sense of his sins that he cannot obtain relief without the aid of others, it is his duty not to neglect the remedy which God provides for him—viz. to have recourse for relief to a private confession to his own pastor, and for consolation privately implore the assistance of him whose business it is, both in public and private, to solace the people of God with Gospel doctrine. But we are always to use moderation, lest in a matter as to which God prescribes no certain rule, our consciences be burdened with a certain yoke. Hence it follows first, that confession of this nature ought to be free so as not to be exacted of all, but only recommended to those who feel that they have need of it; and, secondly, even those who use it according to their necessity must neither be compelled by any precept, nor artfully induced to enumerate all their sins, but only in so far as they shall deem it for their interest, that they may obtain the full benefit of consolation. Faithful pastors, as they would both eschew tyranny in their ministry, and superstition in the people, must not only leave this liberty to churches, but defend and strenuously vindicate it.

I recall another day as an adult, when I made an appointment to go see my pastor to confess something to him I had never told another living soul.  After having unburdened myself to him, unlike my classmates, he didn’t run to the opposite corner of the room. But rather, I experienced what Jacob described in Genesis 33:10.  Upon meeting his brother Esau after years of estrangement and expecting nothing but wrath and fury, Jacob beheld the face of God in his brother’s mercy: “For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me.” (ESV)

I love the words to the hymn, Approach My Soul, the Mercy Seat, wherein John Newton tells us how we may face our fierce accuser, Satan:

Bowed down beneath a load of sin, by Satan sorely pressed, by war without and fears within, I come to thee for rest.

Be thou my shield and hiding place, that, sheltered near thy side, I may my fierce accuser face, and tell him thou hast died.

O wondrous love! To bleed and die, to bear the cross and shame, that guilty sinners, such as I, might plead thy gracious name!

Links to Reformation 21 blogs through the Institutes:

June 1:  3.4.10 – 3.4.15

June 2:  3.4.16 – 3.4.20

June 3:  3.4.21 – 3.4.26

June 4:  3.4.27 – 3.4.31

June 5:  3.4.32– 3.4.35

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May 24, 2015 · 3:37 pm

Week 21 of 50 in the Institutes: The Fruits of Repentance

In his little book, The Grace of Repentance, Sinclair Ferguson took note of “a medieval darkness encroaching on evangelicalism.”  Dr. Ferguson went on to enumerate five signs of this encroaching darkness, the first of which had to do with repentance:

“1. Repentance is seen as an initial emotion, not as a vital part of a lifelong restoration of godliness.”  (Sinclair Ferguson, The Grace of Repentance, Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010; p. 41).

Contrary to that popular misperception, Calvin sets his readers’ feet on the right path.  If we look back to last week’s assignment, we find the following definition of repentance (3.3.5):

A real conversion of our life unto God, proceeding from sincere and serious fear of God; and consisting in the mortification of our flesh and the old man, and the quickening of the Spirit.

We see from this that repentance is tied to the new birth, but doesn’t end there, but commences a lifelong process of mortification and vivification that never ends in this life, as Calvin went on to say in 3.3.9:

Accordingly through the blessing of Christ we are renewed by that regeneration into the righteousness of God from which we had fallen through Adam, the Lord being pleased in this manner to restore the integrity of all whom he appoints to the inheritance of life. This renewal, indeed, is not accomplished in a moment, a day, or a year, but by uninterrupted, sometimes even by slow progress God abolishes the remains of carnal corruption in his elect, cleanses them from pollution, and consecrates them as his temples, restoring all their inclinations to real purity, so that during their whole lives they may practice repentance, and know that death is the only termination to this warfare.

So what are some encouraging signs or fruits of repentance that one may expect during this journey of faith?  Calvin provides three (3.3.16):

We can now understand what are the fruits of repentance—viz. offices of piety towards God, and love towards men, general holiness and purity of life. In short, the more a man studies to conform his life to the standard of the divine law, the surer signs he gives of his repentance.

Calvin’s Institutes are hence as relevant today as they were five hundred years ago.

Links to Reformation 21 blogs through the Institutes:

May 26:  3.3.16 – 3.3.18

May 27:  3.3.19 – 3.3.20

May 28:  3.3.21 – 3.3.25

May 29:  3.4.1 – 3.4.3

May 30:  3.4.4 – 3.4.9

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May 17, 2015 · 4:44 pm

Week 20 of 50 in the Institutes: The Holy Spirit of Promise

Those who are up to date with the reading assignments are in for a real treat tomorrow! Calvin provides us with a jewel of exegetical insight in 3.2.36 with regard to understanding the phrase, “the Holy Spirit of promise”, found in Ephesians 1:13 (“In him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation – having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise” – NASB)

I am currently teaching through Ephesians in Sunday school, and I regrettably missed Calvin’s insights when we covered that passage last year.  Consider Calvin’s treatment in 3.2.36 (Beveridge’s translation, emphasis added), wherein he shows that faith is a matter of the heart:

The next thing necessary is, that what the mind has imbibed be transferred into the heart. The word is not received in faith when it merely flutters in the brain, but when it has taken deep root in the heart, and become an invincible bulwark to withstand and repel all the assaults of temptation. But if the illumination of the Spirit is the true source of understanding in the intellect, much more manifest is his agency in the confirmation of the heart; inasmuch as there is more distrust in the heart than blindness in the mind; and it is more difficult to inspire the soul with security than to imbue it with knowledge. Hence the Spirit performs the part of a seal, sealing upon our hearts the very promises, the certainty of which was previously impressed upon our minds. It also serves as an earnest in establishing and confirming these promises. Thus the Apostle says, “In whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance,” (Eph. 1:13, 14). You see how he teaches that the hearts of believers are stamped with the Spirit as with a seal, and calls it the Spirit of promise, because it ratifies the gospel to us. In like manner he says to the Corinthians, “God has also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts,” (2 Cor. 1:22). And again, when speaking of a full and confident hope, he founds it on the “earnest of the Spirit,” (2 Cor. 5:5).

None of my commentaries picked up on any association of sealing having anything to do with the promises.  The closest anyone in my collection came was Peter O’Brien (The Pillar New Testament Commentary, The Letter to the Ephesians), in that he pointed out that “the believing and being sealed were two sides of one event” (p. 119).  But to equate the Spirit communicating and applying the gospel to believers personally at conversion with the essence of the seal itself is profound, and a perfect example of why Calvin’s works are still consulted for his insights both as a theologian and a commentator.

In his Commentary on Ephesians 1:13, Calvin emphasized the efficacious work of the Spirit in convincing men of the truth of the gospel (emphasis added):

Our minds never become so firmly established in the truth of God as to resist all the temptations of Satan, until we have been confirmed in it by the Holy Spirit. The true conviction which believers have of the word of God, of their own salvation, and of religion in general, does not spring from the judgment of the flesh, or from human and philosophical arguments, but from the sealing of the Spirit, who imparts to their consciences such certainty as to remove all doubt. The foundation of faith would be frail and unsteady, if it rested on human wisdom; and therefore, as preaching is the instrument of faith, so the Holy Spirit makes preaching efficacious.

This work of the Spirit in affirming the truth of the gospel on the hearts of believers is such that even those who admit to a lack of assurance will not trade what little hope they have for anything in the wide world.  Such confidence, albeit weak at times, stems from the work of the Holy Spirit of promise upon the heart, sealing a sense of forgiveness in a mysterious yet indefatigable way which manifests itself in a cry of “Abba! Father!” in times of need (Rom. 8:15). And this is because, deep down, the Spirit bears witness with the believer’s spirit that he is a child of God.  What’s more, the work of the Spirit in applying the promises personally to the heart only begins at conversion, and ceases only when we reach the Celestial City where faith ends in sight.  Glory be to Him!

Links to Reformation 21 blogs through the Institutes:

May 18:  3.2.32 – 3.2.37

May 19:  3.2.38 – 3.2.42

May 20:  3.2.43 – 3.3.4

May 21:  3.3.5 – 3.3.10

May 22:  3.3.11 – 3.3.15

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May 10, 2015 · 5:03 pm

Week 19 of 50 in the Institutes: A Right Definition of Faith

This week’s assignment overflows with Calvin’s pastoral concern for his readers, and Carl Trueman’s blogs on the Reformation 21 website are not to be missed either (see links at bottom of post).

I want to draw attention to Calvin’s definition of saving faith in 3.2.7 and note its agreement with the Heidelberg Catechism and the Westminster Confession.  So let’s begin with Calvin’s definition:

We shall now have a full definition of faith if we say that it is a firm and sure knowledge of the divine favor toward us, founded on the truth of a free promise in Christ, and revealed to our minds, and sealed on our hearts, by the Holy Spirit. (Beveridge)

The notable feature of this definition of faith for twenty-first century Christendom is the role of the Holy Spirit in assurance of salvation (as opposed to man, or the mere utterance of a prayer).  As Trueman observed (May 11 blog), assurance is indeed central to Christianity.  But today, I’m afraid that assurance is taken for granted in a presumptive, automatic, name-it, claim-it approach: “I prayed the prayer, so I’m saved.  Why the concern about assurance?”  Calvin went on in the next section (3.2.8) to assert that faith goes beyond a mere assent to certain truths, and that true assent itself is more “a matter of the heart than of the head, of the affection than the intellect”.

When we compare Calvin’s definition of saving faith to that found in the Heidelberg Catechism (Q&A 21), we find assurance worked by the Holy Spirit common to both:

Question 21. What is true faith? Answer: True faith is not only a certain knowledge, whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in his word, but also an assured confidence, which the Holy Ghost works by the gospel in my heart; that not only to others, but to me also, remission of sin, everlasting righteousness and salvation, are freely given by God, merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ’s merits.

The Westminster Confession of Faith (Chapter 14) elaborates more, but contains the same emphasis on the Holy Spirit, with an acknowledgement that there may be saving faith where full assurance is lacking:

  1. The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts, and is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the word: by which also, and by the administration of the sacraments, and prayer, it is increased and strengthened.
  2. By this faith, a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the word, for the authority of God himself speaking therein; and acteth differently upon that which each particular passage thereof containeth; yielding and embracing the promises, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life and that which is to come.  But the principal acts of saving faith are, accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace.
  3. This faith is different in degrees, weak or strong; may be often and many ways assailed and weakened, but gets the victory; growing up in many to the attainment of a full assurance through Christ, who is both the author and finisher of our faith.

For his part, Calvin balanced the certainty inherent to true faith with the weakness found therein as well, due to indwelling sin.  Hence the need to work out one’s salvation with fear and trembling (3.2.23), which is a far cry from “name-it, claim-it.”

Links to Reformation 21 blogs through the Institutes:

May 11:  3.2.7 – 3.2.10

May 12:  3.2.11 – 3.2.15

May 13:  3.2.16 – 3.2.21

May 14:  3.2.22 – 3.2.27

May 15:  3.2.28 – 3.2.31

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May 3, 2015 · 8:23 pm

Week 18 of 50 in the Institutes: Rightly Appraising Christ’s Descent Into Hell

This week’s assignments in the Institutes have no blog entries on the Reformation 21 website, just an entry indicating that they are not available and will be posted later for 2.16.12 through 3.2.6.

It would seem that the closest they ever came was a series of articles in January of this year on the statement in the Apostles’ Creed that Christ “descended into hell.”  Rick Phillips began it all by sharing how his current church had already abandoned the phrase when he became pastor there (see link below for his article: “Vos on the Descent of Christ into Hell”).  Upon investigation, he decided that abandoning the phrase was the best thing to do, for lack of clear biblical testimony.  Four hours after Phillips’ post,  Mark Jones gave a response titled, “Keeping ‘Christ’s Descent into Hell’”.  Eric Hutchinson posited another article five days later, “Should We Assent to the Descent”, and Rick Phillips did a follow up on January 9th, “Still Dissenting to the Descent”.  If you read those four articles, you may learn more than you wanted to know about the phrase.

For my part, I agree with the Reformed view expressed in the confessions (HC Q&A 44; WLC Q&A 50), and as articulated by Calvin in 2.16.10 of the Institutes, that “he suffered the death that God in his wrath had inflicted upon the wicked” (McNeill Battles ed.).

Everything to this point in this post, though, merely functions as an introduction to my main concern here (especially since 2.16.10 is from last week’s assignment).  In 2.16.12 Calvin brings us to holy ground which lies beyond the wrangling over the nuances of meaning of “He descended into hell” to ponder the magnitude of the Savior’s suffering on our behalf as evidenced by his agony beginning in Gethsemane.  This is where I need to sit and gaze for long periods of time, so that sin will become infinitely heinous in my sight, and Christ all the more precious.  As Calvin put it:

“From this it appears that these quibblers with whom I am contending boldly chatter about things they know nothing of. For they have never earnestly considered what it is or means that we have been redeemed from God’s judgment.  Yet this is our wisdom: duly to feel how much our salvation cost the Son of God.”  (McNeill-Battles)

“Hence it appears that these triflers, with whom I am disputing, presume to talk of what they know not, never having seriously considered what is meant and implied by ransoming us from the justice of God. It is of consequence to understand aright how much our salvation cost the Son of God.”  (Beveridge)

Mark Jones has written another article to assist with this contemplation as well: Hell’s Horrors vs Heaven’s Happiness.

Links to Reformation 21 Articles on Christ’s Descent Into Hell, in sequence:

1.  Rick Phillips – Vos on the Descent of Christ Into Hell  (Jan. 2, 2015 8:57 am)

2.  Mark Jones – Keeping “Christ’s Descent Into Hell”   (Jan 2, 2015  12:58 pm)

3.  Eric Hutchinson – Should We Assent to the Descent?  (Jan 7, 2015  9:25 am)

4.  Rick Phillips – Still Dissenting to the Descent (Jan 9, 2015 2:15 pm)

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April 26, 2015 · 4:55 pm

Week 17 of 50 in the Institutes: The Walking Dead

I need to say at the outset here that I am not a Walking Dead fan.  I’m just borrowing the title for today’s blog.  In fact, I have not even watched a single episode of the series, nor do I intend to (real life is has enough zombies as it is.)  Those who have watched the show tell me that the title phrase refers to those who are not yet zombies, but eventually will be, because it’s just a matter of time before they are overrun by the zombie hordes.

Reading 2.16.2 in this upcoming week’s assignment reminded me of the “walking dead” described by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:1-3.  Paul provides a 3-D view of unbelievers, describing them as: 1) dead in trespasses and sins (v. 1); 2) dominated by the world, the flesh, and Satan (v. 2), and 3) doomed, as children of wrath (v. 3).  The sad thing is that unbelievers are not aware of their deadness, the domination they are under, nor the ultimate doom that is their destiny, apart from Christ.

And this is what makes the gospel is so hard for people to grasp in the twenty-first century.  The idea that man is truly culpable (blameworthy) for his sinful state is a tough pill to swallow in our postmodern society in the West.  It is an idea so radical, that it takes a supernatural work of God to convince sinners of their miserable and helpless condition and to bring them to that indispensable crisis of conscience which is integral to repentance and faith (the wicket gate giving entrance to the narrow road which leads to the Celestial City).

Too much of the time, moderns prefer a sponsor for their salvation, rather than the Savior.  A sponsor makes salvation possible.  The Savior makes it certain.  And therein lies all the difference between self-service, man-centered salvation, and biblical, Christ-exalting, God-glorifying salvation.  The Savior came to do what man had no hope or desire of doing for himself.

We see this clearly in the point of transition in Ephesians 2:4.  Chapter 2 of Ephesians begins with a direct object: “you”. The subject doesn’t come until verse 4, “But God”.  To show how each aspect of man’s condition apart from Christ is more than offset in salvation, Paul makes a contrast, in 3-E perspective, if you will. Where there was death, there is enlivening (made alive with Christ, v. 4 ).  In the place of domination, there is elevation (raised with Christ, v. 5a).  Where there was doom, now there is exaltation (seated with Christ in the heavenly places, v. 5b).  And the source of all of this change is God.

And, wonder of wonders, he uses the foolishness of preaching to turn the “walking dead” into children of light, when the word God and Spirit of God together work faith and repentance in the heart.

To God be the glory, for He alone has done great things.

Links to Reformation 21 blogs through the Institutes:

Apr. 27:  2.14.5 – 2.14.8

Apr. 28:  2.15.1 – 2.15.4

Apr. 29:  2.15.5 – 2.16.2

Apr. 30:  2.16.3 – 2.16.6

May 1:  2.16.7 – 2.16.11

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April 19, 2015 · 4:27 pm

Week 16 of 50 in the Institutes: No Sin, No Incarnation?

I agree with Rick Phillips that incarnational analogies are unnerving, and this week’s assignment dealing with sections on the nature of the incarnation, like those covering the Trinity, makes my head hurt!

But for anyone unsatisfied with Calvin’s answer to the question of whether Christ would have become man if Adam had not sinned (2.12.5), Mark Jones has written a blog in which he answers in the affirmative.  While I agree with Calvin that such speculative questions essentially go beyond what is revealed (and thus belong to the secret things of God), Mark Jones at least has a noble premise for arguing in the affirmative, namely, the beatific vision.

In another blog, Mark Jones encourages budding theologians to learn Latin, asserting:

“Calvin gets a lot of attention because his works are in English, but even if his contemporary, Peter Vermigli, were readily available in English, we’d be quoting him ad nauseam and appealing to him in order to justify our theological convictions.”

“Read Augustine’s Confessions in Latin and perhaps you’ll never read a blog again.”

Thankfully for most of us, we do indeed have Calvin’s Institutes in English.  All these revealed things will keep me occupied quite sufficiently the rest of my days. I do regret taking three years of French in high school instead of Latin, though.  But for those with time on their hands, there is always the Davenant Latin Institute.  Et tu?

Links to Reformation 21 blogs through the Institutes:

Apr. 20:  2.11.10 – 2.11.14

Apr. 21:  2.12.1 – 2.12.5

Apr. 22:  2.12.6 – 2.13.1

Apr. 23:  2.13.2 – 2.13.4

Apr. 24:  2.14.1 – 2.14.4

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April 12, 2015 · 5:30 pm

Week 15 of 50 in the Institutes: Calvin Neither a Theonomist Nor a Postmillennialist

Many in the Reformed camp like to claim Calvin as an adherent to their particular pet doctrines, and since there hasn’t been a lot of discussion generated by previous blogs, I thought I would stir the pot with a couple of observations.

First, Calvin was not a theonomist.  We have seen Calvin’s view to be in line with the WCF (19.3-4), which is that the moral law is still binding, while the civil and ceremonial have been abrogated (Institutes, 2.7.16).  I didn’t point this out when we covered that section in week 12, but found 2.11.3 insightful with regard to the abrogation of the civil law, where Calvin makes something of a throw-away comment at the end of his delineation of the first difference between the Old and New Testaments.  When we keep in mind that the civil laws were contextualized for the particular situation of the Israelites, Calvin’s comment about the “dreadful nature of spiritual death by bodily punishments” sheds light as to why they would be abrogated in the New Testament, in that those physical benefits and punishments were types of spiritual ones (2.11.3):

“The unskilful, not considering this analogy and correspondence (if I may so speak) between rewards and punishments, wonder that there is so much variance in God, that those who, in old time, were suddenly visited for their faults with severe and dreadful punishments, he now punishes much more rarely and less severely, as if he had laid aside his former anger, and, for this reason, they can scarcely help imagining, like the Manichees, that the God of the Old Testament was different from that of the New. But we shall easily disencumber ourselves of such doubts if we attend to that mode of divine administration to which I have adverted—that God was pleased to indicate and typify both the gift of future and eternal felicity by terrestrial blessings, as well as the dreadful nature of spiritual death by bodily punishments, at that time when he delivered his covenant to the Israelites as under a kind of veil.”

Second, Calvin was not a postmillennialist (no chiliast, at least). Apart from all of the exegetical problems which plague that view (which I think are many), an issue core to the gospel is how a believer could seek felicity below in a carnal kingdom, which, of necessity involves seeking the same things every unregenerate person strives to attain: position, power, and affluence.  While demonstrating that the OT saints sought their felicity above, not in things below, Calvin lays down a principle that runs contrary to a basic tenet of modern postmillennialism (2.10.20):

” . . . whenever the Prophets make mention of the happiness of believers (a happiness of which scarcely any vestiges are discernible in the present life), they must have recourse to this distinction: that the better to commend the Divine goodness to the people, they used temporal blessings as a kind of lineaments to shadow it forth, and yet gave such a portrait as might lift their minds above the earth, the elements of this world, and all that will perish, and compel them to think of the blessedness of a future and spiritual life.”

But lest this week’s assignment should leave us in doubt about Calvin’s view on the matter, the assignment for August 21 (when we get there!) removes all doubt (3.25.5):

“But not only did Satan stupefy the senses of mankind, so that with their bodies they buried the remembrance of the resurrection; but he also managed by various fictions so to corrupt this branch of doctrine that it at length was lost. Not to mention that even in the days of Paul he began to assail it (1 Cor. 15), shortly after the Chiliasts arose, who limited the reign of Christ to a thousand years. This fiction is too puerile to need or to deserve refutation. Nor do they receive any countenance from the Apocalypse, from which it is known that they extracted a gloss for their error (Rev. 20:4), since the thousand years there mentioned refer not to the eternal blessedness of the Church, but only to the various troubles which await the Church militant in this world. The whole Scripture proclaims that there will be no end either to the happiness of the elect, or the punishment of the reprobate. Moreover, in regard to all things which lie beyond our sight, and far transcend the reach of our intellect, belief must either be founded on the sure oracles of God, or altogether renounced. Those who assign only a thousand years to the children of God to enjoy the inheritance of future life, observe not how great an insult they offer to Christ and his kingdom. If they are not to be clothed with immortality, then Christ himself, into whose glory they shall be transformed, has not been received into immortal glory; if their blessedness is to have an end, the kingdom of Christ, on whose solid structure it rests, is temporary. In short, they are either most ignorant of all divine things or they maliciously aim at subverting the whole grace of God and power of Christ, which cannot have their full effects unless sin is obliterated, death swallowed up, and eternal life fully renewed.”

Links to Reformation 21 blogs through the Institutes:

Apr. 13:  2.10.1 – 2.10.7

Apr. 14:  2.10.8 – 2.10.13

Apr. 15:  2.10.14 – 2.10.20

Apr. 16:  2.10.21 – 2.11.3

Apr. 17:  2.11.4 – 2.11.9

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April 5, 2015 · 4:44 pm

Week 14 of 50 in the Institutes: An Empty Tomb to Fill Empty Places in the Heart

Since this is Easter Sunday, I couldn’t resist latching onto some of Calvin’s comments in the coming week’s assignments, 2.8.58, in particular where he mentions impulses coming from “some empty place in the soul” (McNeill-Battles rendering), or “some empty corner” as we find in Beveridge:

We are forbidden to have strange gods. When the mind, under the influence of distrust, looks elsewhere or is seized with some sudden desire to transfer its blessedness to some other quarter, whence are these movements, however evanescent, but just because there is some empty corner in the soul to receive such temptations? And, not to lengthen out the discussion, there is a precept to love God with the whole heart, and mind, and soul; and, therefore, if all the powers of the soul are not directed to the love of God, there is a departure from the obedience of the Law; because those internal enemies which rise up against the dominion of God, and countermand his edicts prove that his throne is not well established in our consciences.

In this section (2.8.58) in the Institutes Calvin points out the illegitimacy of any attempt to  distinguish between mortal and venial sins, because all sin is deadly: it only takes one to bring eternal death (Rom. 6:23).  His comments here about some empty corner/place in the soul remind me of how John Owen said, at least in one instance (loose quote, cited in a sermon I heard), that when we sin we have become bored with God (if anyone finds that exact quote, I will be indebted to whoever provides).  This passage makes me wonder if Owen wasn’t partly inspired by Calvin.

Today churches around the world celebrated the empty tomb, vacated by a risen Savior two thousand years ago, in His victory over sin and death and the grave.  And a wonder of wonders is that He now dwells in the heart of every believer (John 14:23).  At the same time, however, the believer still has indwelling sin, as Calvin pointed out back in 2.2.27.  Contemplating both of these truths may lead us to agree with St. Augustine and confess together with him that we are a complete mystery to ourselves!

Calvin is helpful here again in this regard.  Further on in this week’s assignment (2.9.3) when pointing out that the promises are not abrogated for NT believers (an erroneous teaching by Servetus) he describes a wonderful reliance on Christ:

Indeed we have no enjoyment of Christ, unless by embracing him as clothed with his own promises. Hence it is that he indeed dwells in our hearts and yet we are as pilgrims in regard to him, because “we walk by faith, not by sight,” ( 2 Cor. 5:6, 7).  There is no inconsistency in the two things—viz. that in Christ we possess every thing pertaining to the perfection of the heavenly life, and yet that faith is only a vision “of things not seen,” (Heb. 11:1).

This brings us to the title of this blog.  Christ’s tomb is empty, so that every believer’s heart would not be.  Herein we find the key to sanctification and the discovery of our true identity as followers of Christ.  Collectively we are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building being fit together grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom we also are being built together into a habitation of God by the Spirit (Eph. 2:19-22).  Individually we each have the indwelling Holy Spirit given as a seal of promise, the down payment of our inheritance before redemption of the purchased possession (Eph. 1:14).

In closing, I encourage rich meditation as we ask ourselves and others: So what (or better yet, who) is in your heart today? Take up and read!  The sight is glorious!

Links to Reformation 21 blogs through the Institutes:

Apr. 6:  2.8.33 – 2.8.38

Apr. 7:  2.8.39 – 2.8.46

Apr. 8:  2.8.47 – 2.8.52

Apr. 9:  2.8.53 – 2.8.59

Apr. 10:  2.9.1 – 2.9.5

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March 29, 2015 · 8:25 pm

Week 13 of 50 in the Institutes: Nothing Superstitious About Being Sabbatarian

How ironic it is that in week 13 of our 50 week jaunt through Calvin’s Institutes, our reading includes most of Calvin’s handling of the fourth commandment, wherein we find him deriding “Sabbatarian superstition”  (in 2.8.34; not that I’m superstitious, by any means you understand!).

I was delighted to discover Sinclair Ferguson was the blogger on the Reformation 21 website for this week’s assignments, and, being the gentleman and scholar that he is, he simply noted that Calvin takes the “continental view” on the Sabbath, and he didn’t bother critiquing or comparing the “continental view” with that of the Puritan view espoused in the WCF (see the Reformation 21 April 3rd blog).

I hesitate to take up this topic, since Ferguson (perhaps due to word count blog limitations) sidestepped it entirely.  And besides, who wants to be a picker of nits?  Nevertheless, I am compelled to share my reflections, critical as they are of some of what Calvin espoused, because I don’t think the issues involved are inconsequential.  So despite the risk of rushing in where angels dare to tread, here goes.

To begin with, let’s compare the most concise formulations of the Continental and Puritan views on the fourth commandment. Let’s start with the Continental view as found in the Heidelberg Catechism:

Q104: What doth God require in the fourth commandment?  Answer: First, that the ministry of the gospel and the schools be maintained; and that I, especially on the Sabbath, that is, on the day of rest, diligently frequent the church of God to hear His word, to use the sacraments, publicly to call upon the Lord, and contribute to the relief of the poor, as becomes a Christian.  Secondly, that all the days of my life I cease from my evil works, and yield myself to the Lord, to work by His Holy Spirit in me; and thus begin in this life the eternal Sabbath.

By way of contrast, here are the pertinent sections from the Westminster Confession:

20.7  As it is of the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in his word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men in all ages, he hath particularly appointed one day in seven for a sabbath, to be kept holy unto him: which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week, which in Scripture is called the Lord’s Day, and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath.

20.8 This sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs before-hand, do not only observe an holy rest from all the day from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations; but also are taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.

Calvin identified three conditions involved in keeping the fourth commandment:

  1. A day of spiritual rest in which believers lay aside their own works to allow God to work in them.
  2. A stated day for worship and meditation.
  3. A day of rest for servants and those under the authority of others.

As Ferguson observed, for Calvin, the second and third conditions remain, and Christ is seen as the fulfillment of the Sabbath, foreshadowed in the OT (2.8.31).

But even Calvin’s observance of the Lord’s Day would very likely be labelled “sabbatarian” by those outside that camp today.  As Ferguson noted, Calvin himself was accused of nourishing people in Judaism (2.8.33). And we shouldn’t overlook Calvin’s longing to have a daily assembly for preaching and ministry of the word (third to last sentence of 2.8.32).

If we could time travel back to Calvin’s Geneva, we would find three church services held on Sunday: at sunrise, nine o’clock, and three o’clock.  At noon there was a children’s service which taught catechism.  And that was just on Sunday.  During the week, the city council had decided there should be more preaching, and so there were sermons given every week day.  This resulted in Calvin preaching three times on Sunday and five times during the week every other week (a rotation shared with other ministers), for a total of ten sermons every fortnight.  So Ferguson’s point is well taken (April 3rd blog) that “a day for worship and meditation has not been reduced to a morning,” either in Calvin’s day or ours.

Some say that the Sabbatarian principles of the WCF and the HC are different in argument, but the same in practice (follow this link for a discussion on The Puritan Board, later!).  As a Sabbatarian, I would have been very much at home with the Lord’s Day observances in Calvin’s Geneva.

Having said that, I want to point out a couple of the issues I have with Calvin’s handling of the fourth commandment.  As hinted in the title of this blog, it isn’t a matter of superstition to observe the fourth commandment as understood from Scripture and in good conscience, any more than it is to keep any of the other commandments (keeping the Lord’s commands is by no means superstitious).  Superstition by its very definition is a blindly accepted belief or notion.  The observance of the fourth commandment, as delineated in the WCF, is rooted in a particular understanding of the teaching of Holy Scripture, which leads me to the second issue I have with Calvin’s treatment.

Calvin seems to jettison sola scriptura and concede to the church the ultimate authority in establishing a particular day for worship and assembly.  In 2.8.34 we find this deference to ecclesiastical authority in selecting a day of worship (emphasis added):

The whole may be thus summed up: As the truth was delivered typically to the Jews, so it is imparted to us without figure; first, that during our whole lives we may aim at a constant rest from our own works, in order that the Lord may work in us by his Spirit; secondly that every individual, as he has opportunity, may diligently exercise himself in private, in pious meditation on the works of God, and, at the same time, that all may observe the legitimate order appointed by the Church, for the hearing of the word, the administration of the sacraments, and public prayer: And, thirdly, that we may avoid oppressing those who are subject to us.

For those interested in a fuller treatment of the Puritan view, in addition to the Westminster standards I recommend James Fisher’s catechism, questions 57-62, which are available here.

If Calvin were alive today, I venture to say he would be appalled by the essential abandonment of the fourth commandment in our age.  And when he inevitably expressed his concerns, he would be labelled a staunch Sabbatarian, by today’s standards.

Links to Reformation 21 blogs through the Institutes:

Mar. 30:  2.8.2 – 2.8.7

Mar. 31:  2.8.8 – 2.8.14

Apr. 1:  2.8.15 – 2.8.19

Apr. 2:  2.8.20 – 2.8.26

Apr. 3:  2.8.27 – 2.8.32

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