For Calvin, the appropriate response to hearing God’s word was to cast oneself down in repentance, and cling to the hope that the God of all mercy would “help us feel [our sins] more and more, so that we may come to true repentance and may strive to mortify the evil within us, until he makes us new.” (105) As pastors, there seems nothing more helpful to the flock than, like a good shepherd, to lead them to the water of life and urge them to drink. For Calvin, he made it clear in his prayers that living water could be found when you throw yourself at the mercy of this good God, acknowledge all our faults, and find in him the hope of abundant life. This was Calvin’s vision for pastoral prayer.
Where Pastoral Work Begins – Calvin’s Foundation for Ministry
7 Fundamental Concepts of Calvin’s Pastoral Ministry
1. Proclaim the Gospel
In the opening sermon of the series, Calvin began, “Here Paul shows that there is no prelate, bishop or pastor worthy of the name who does not bring and proclaim the gospel.” (5) For Calvin, this means that all pastors “should know that God has set them up expressly to preach the message of salvation.” (5) Throughout these sermons, and over the course of his ministry, Calvin preached the gospel at every turn. He knew there was a temptation for every pastor to preach “our pet ideas” (82), and he relentlessly fought this temptation clinging instead to the uttermost necessity of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“Let those especially who have been made preachers of the gospel see that the message of salvation is not lost or extinguished, but is accepted and protected.”
In order to proclaim the gospel, the first step is for the pastor himself to be gripped by this message. As Calvin put it, the pastor must “hold fast to the simplicity of the gospel and ask God to grant us the Spirit of meekness, so that we are open to his teaching and attend patiently to what he says.” (381) Calvin himself was delighted to help his hearers see “what a treasure the gospel is and how much it means to God.” (110) This gospel, which “radiates [God’s] glory,” is “the most precious and worthy thing he has,” and is nothing short of God’s “kingly scepter by which he governs his people.” (111) Even more, this gospel has been handed over and entrusted to God’s people who are to make the gospel known on all the earth. As Calvin described, “Let those especially who have been made preachers of the gospel see that the message of salvation is not lost or extinguished, but is accepted and protected.” (110) Pastors, as preachers of God’s word, maintain the responsibility of faithfully proclaiming the gospel in such a way that God’s people are built up, and all people are called to salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.
When the gospel is precious to the pastor it is natural that this message will permeate all that he says and does. Such was true with Calvin. As he worked through 2 Timothy he described and explained the gospel repeatedly. Like an eager watchman on the day of battle, Calvin looked for every opportunity to announce the grace of God in saving his people. He could spend an entire sermon captivated in its goodness, or, as he did often, he could capture the message in a few powerful sentences. For instance, in his sermon on 2 Timothy 2 he summarized the good news: “For here is the ultimate truth, that from the creation of the world—and earlier still, from all eternity—our salvation has been founded on God’s goodness and his immutable counsel. We know also that he has called us personally to himself. In the person of Jesus Christ he has been reconciled to us; in him we have remission for our sins and fullness of grace. … it is he who generously bestows on us the gifts of his Holy Spirit.” (175) The good news of God’s salvation, according to Calvin, was built on the lovingkindness of God, based on his grace, focused on the work of Christ, dependent on faith, and carried out through the work of the Holy Spirit. This was the gospel Calvin prized and, therefore, proclaimed.
2. Hallow God
According to Scripture, Calvin explained, “hallowing God” means “ascribing to him that praise that he deserves.” (93) To hallow God is not the natural response of this world, which is following the prince of the power of the air. To hallow God, God himself must intervene and reveal his true nature and character to a person so that they stand not as an enemy of God, but in reverence to him. Calvin knew that both the world and the devil are at war with the truth of God’s glory. He acknowledged that “Satan has us under his grip…we are under his tyranny and…he masters us as he wills until God delivers us.” (260) In fact, Calvin elaborated, “the devil plants his foot on our throats and makes us suffer the bondage of sin, if we do not ask our Lord Jesus Christ to deliver us” (284).
The best defense against the desires of the world and the schemes of the devil is a healthy and proper fear of God. As Calvin described, this fear is not merely a terror that makes us flee from God, but a “measured fear, which wakes us up and helps us see that we must so live as to appear one day before our appointed Judge.” (360) And who is this Judge? “The Son of God, our Redeemer—and our Advocate too.” (360) Calvin believed, “No one can wean us from this world unless we are made to fear.” (359) Amidst the attacks of Satan and the temptations from the world which draw all people away from life in God, Calvin urges the pastor, “Let us carefully guard God’s truth as we find it in the gospel and not allow ourselves to swerve from it in any way at all.” (138) The work of the pastor is to lead people into a proper relation to God in which God is glorified. This can only be done as the pastor himself hallows God, and leads the people to magnify the Lord in all they say and do. In a sentence, Calvin concluded, “Let us therefore give God the glory even though the whole world should be in turmoil.” (94) Hallowing God means to give him praise, as he is do, no matter the present state of the world. Calvin knew that if God’s people where to be characterized as those who hallow God, the pastor must be the one to lead the way in proclaiming the excellencies of our God.
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