John Calvin on Thanksgiving in Prayer
Though prayer is properly confined to vows and supplications, yet so strong is the affinity between petition and thanksgiving, that both may be conveniently comprehended under one name.
The reason why Paul enjoins, “Pray without ceasing; in every thing give thanks,” (1 Thess. v. 17, 18,) is, because he would have us with the utmost assiduity, at all times, in every place, in all things, and under all circumstances, direct our prayers to God, to expect all the things which we desire from... Continue Reading
Theologian For The Ages: John Calvin
John Calvin (1509–1564) is easily the most important Protestant theologian of all time
“While he was a student at the University of Orléans, Calvin encountered some of the early reform ideas through Martin Luther’s writings, which were widely discussed in academic circles. Subsequently, Calvin was converted to Christ. Calvin recorded a testimony of his conversion in the preface to his Commentary on the Book of Psalms (1557).” ... Continue Reading
“The Kingdom of Christ is Spiritual”: John Calvin and the Redemption of the Cosmos
For Calvin, the church, not civil government, is the focal point of the restoration that will one day encompass all creation
….Calvin’s differentiation between the church as Christ’s spiritual kingdom and the civil or political order. The former is the ministry of Christ by his word and Spirit, with its manifestations in teaching, the administration of the sacraments, and church discipline…. In contrast, civil government can only coerce outward or civil righteousness. Magistrates must submit to... Continue Reading
John Calvin on Wriggling in Worship
The concern is more about an attitude of one’s heart than about ants in one’s pants.
To “wriggle out of coming directly to God” in prayer, then, is a serious, gospel-denying matter. It is a squirming which we as adults are frankly more prone to than our children, having a more cultivated, even if proper, sense of all the reasons why God shouldn’t receive us into His presence when we seek... Continue Reading
9 Things You Should Know About John Calvin
Here are nine things you should know about the French theologian and Reformer
“Calvin initially had no interest in being a pastor. While headed to Strasbourg he made a detour in Geneva where he met the local church leader William Farel. Calvin said he was only staying one night, but Farel argued that it was God’s will he remain in the city and become a pastor. When Calvin... Continue Reading
Why Did John Calvin and the Reformers Forbid All Images of the Divine Persons?
Why I believe all images of the divine Persons of the Trinity are sinful
Christianity is a religion of faith. It focuses on “things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Christians worship the unseen God and His unseen Son seated in the unseen Heaven, mediated by the unseen Spirit. Unauthorized images of Christ add nothing beneficial to this religion of faith, and serve only to tempt the faithful to take their... Continue Reading
John Calvin on the Holiness of Life
For Calvin, there is no such thing as the so-called “carnal Christian.”
Calvin leaves no room for a middle ground. Either we ardently pursue the example of Christ or else we strongly renounce Him by our conduct and lifestyle. How different this standard is from the attitude of so many of today’s Christians, who are quite casual or halfhearted in their pursuit of Christlikeness. But from Calvin’s... Continue Reading
The Heart of John Calvin
Belonging to Christ is at the heart of Calvinism.
The Lord took hold of Calvin, and Calvin thus could not help but take away “dominion and rule from his own reason” and yield it to the Lord alone. That is the glorious brilliance reflected by any study of Calvin. There was nothing in Calvin himself that was superhuman, super-theologian, or super-churchman. Calvin was a... Continue Reading
10 Distinguishing Marks of John Calvin’s Preaching
From Steven Lawson's chapter in John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology
There is a sad misconception today that because Calvin believed in predestination, he was not evangelistic. The persistent myth is that he did not have a passion to reach lost souls for Christ. Nothing could be further from the truth. Calvin possessed a great passion to reach lost souls. For that reason, he preached the... Continue Reading
9 Things You Should Know about John Calvin
July 10 was the 504th anniversary of Calvin's birth.
Calvin worked himself nearly to death. As Christian History notes, when he could not walk the couple of hundred yards to church, he was carried in a chair to preach. When the doctor forbade him to go out in the winter air to the lecture room, he crowded the audience into his bedroom and gave... Continue Reading