An Event to Celebrate?
Friday, 10th July 2009 saw the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin in 1509. For most people that is an event not to celebrate. There have been a few articles in newspapers and programmes on the radio that have referred to this anniversary. But all of them have linked John Calvin with what one writer called “that dreadful and pernicious idea of predestination”. And all but one blamed him for the appearance of such an “appalling concept”. The history of that teaching back through Thomas Aquinas, Augustine, the Early Church Fathers and the Apostle Paul to the Lord Jesus Christ and the whole of the Bible, is largely ignored. With such a pedigree it can scarcely be called “dreadful and pernicious”. With the one exception all the presentations then described him as a narrow-minded, bigoted and miserable sort of fellow. Certainly not someone who ought to be remembered with any affection or delight. Well this writer does remember John Calvin not only with affection and delight, but also with great thankfulness. That is not down to my normal perversity and reluctance to follow the popular view, but because I believe we owe a phenomenal debt to that remarkable man of God. The whole world is in John Calvin’s debt and Christians particularly so.
What is the debt we owe to John Calvin? First and foremost we must note his extraordinary contribution to our understanding of the Bible. As a young man of 26 he wrote a defence of Evangelical Christians in France who were experiencing terrible persecution, which set out in basic terms what they believed. That short book grew through many editions until its final form produced shortly before his death which we know as the Institutes of the Christian Religion. It is questionable whether any book, excluding the Bible and Pilgrims Progress, has had so profound and beneficial effect on the Christian Church. No man should dare to stand in a pulpit on a regular basis who is not acquainted with its contents. In addition to that great book there are his commentaries on most of the Bible and many of his sermons. Both of these are well worth reading, but especially his sermons. They are very up to date in what they say, because they are faithful expositions of the unchanging Scriptures presented in an intelligible and often down-to-earth way.
Then again in the spiritual realm we have a man who was a fine Christian and who is a good role model in many aspects of his life. He knew great sorrow and trouble but he was a godly, joyful and faithful believer. He is an outstanding example of a good pastor. He was pre-eminently a preacher and he modelled the approach to preaching that we follow of expository preaching through the books of the Bible. He was extremely hard working both as a preacher and pastor. His weekly preaching schedule, lecturing of students, pastoral care of his flock, phenomenal correspondence and testimony to the city of Geneva is a wonderful example. He followed the example of the Lord and the Apostles Paul and Peter in the assiduousness with which he pursued his task. He is sometimes accused of being a tyrant in the city of Geneva who ruled everything with an iron fist. But since he did not even have a vote in the city for most of his time there, and he was often in conflict with the political leaders, it is a totally unjust charge against him. Even in the matter of the death of Servetus he has been grossly maligned. In all his labours he battled with constant ill-health which would have laid low a lesser man. He is a fine example of what a pastor should be, and our day sorely needs men who will labour in the work of the ministry as that man of God did!
But in addition to all he did in the religious and ecclesiastical realm he has had an influence in many other spheres. He was a great advocate that all citizens should be educated, and his influence can be seen in the development of the excellent education system introduced in Scotland by John Knox. He also is recognised as having had a strong influence in the development of democracy. He saw the role of the citizen as being very important in the life of the state. It was said of the Puritans in England, who followed many of his ideas and benefited this nation so greatly, that they were those “who would humble themselves in the dust before God and would rise to put their feet on the neck of a king.” Modern science which seeks to take an empirical look at the real world owes the basic concepts of scientific thinking to the approach advocated by John Calvin. And finally modern capitalism is indebted to Calvin’s views on the legitimacy of charging just interest on loans. He was the first theologian to take that stance and to work out the Biblical principles that underlay the practice.
So here is his massive contribution to modern life. It is primarily in the area of spiritual truth and life, but he also has influenced approaches to universal education, democracy, science and economics. That I say is a contribution that should be respected, and appreciated. More than that, I say it is a contribution that we should be thankful to God for. This man was, despite all the detractors, a great man of God who we should honour and not forget.
But does he still have anything to teach us? Yes he does. He was a teacher of Truth and he believed that the truth should be known by every man. He saw the Bible as the express and infallible word of God, and he certainly propounded its inerrancy. But he went further. He taught that the truth needed to be in the heart. Listen to his wise words, “We are invited to a knowledge of God, but not such as, content with empty speculation, merely floats in the brain, but such as will be solid and fruitful, if rightly received and rooted in our hearts” (Institutes, 1.5.9). In an information rich culture the one thing most lacking is the knowledge of God. Calvin calls us back to that. Among Christians who can buy books on every subject and be informed about everything beyond the imagination of John Calvin, he calls them to be constantly growing in the knowledge of God - “Whatever progress any of us has made in the Gospel, let him know that he needs fresh additions. The reward that Christ bestows on their perseverance is to make them more familiar with Himself. By doing so, He merely adds another gift to the former, so that no man may think that he has repaid anything by way of reward. For He who puts His Word in our hearts by His Spirit is the same who daily chastens from our minds the clouds of ignorance which obscure the brightness of the Gospel.”
A living knowledge of God! Calvin is called the “great theologian of the Spirit” and so he is. But he is also the great theologian of the Sovereignty and Providence of God, and the even greater theologian of Faith. But to me above all else he calls us to the supreme benefit and duty of knowing God. That is what the modern church needs in all its mad rush to be seen as being contemporary. That is what the society we live in needs with all its emptiness and futility. And that is what each one of us needs as we seek to live in this complex and challenging age. John Calvin’s age was also very complex and immensely challenging but he exemplifies what he teaches - a man who knew God. It is a glorious possibility, if only we will apply ourselves to God’s Word with the same determination that John Calvin did. That is the best way to celebrate him.