1 A SHORT LIFE OF JOHN CALVIN - wrs.eduJOHN CALVIN CALVIN’S EARLY YEARS (1509-1536) Ronald...

The WRS Journal 16:1, February 2009

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A SHORT LIFE OFJOHN CALVIN

CALVIN’S EARLY YEARS(1509-1536)

Ronald Vandermey1

If I had to choose a historical figureapart from our Savior whose life and workradically changed my own destiny, JohnCalvin would without question be thatman. Because of Calvin’s scholarly andreasoned approach to theology, my Hu-guenot ancestors risked and later ran fortheir lives fleeing France to settle in theNetherlands where they could practice theReformed faith. Hence, thanks to theblessed providence of our Savior, myname, my cultural heritage, and my theo-logical perspective were impacted by theone whose 500th birthday falls in this yearof our Lord, 2009.

Born “Jean Cauvin” in Noyon, France,on July 10, 1509, to Jeanne le Franc andGerard Cauvin, this child prodigychanged his name when a young teen-ager in college to the Latin form IoannisCalvinus, which in French then becameJean Calvin (hence the English “JohnCalvin”). Gerard, known for wisdom andprudence, had served in various ecclesi-astical offices in Noyon, and wanted hisson John to enter the priesthood. Payingfor his son’s education with the noblefamily of Hangest de Montmor, Gerardproudly witnessed young John display-ing a genius in every subject attempted.At the age of twelve, the boy was awardeda chaplaincy at the cathedral in Noyon,but a plague in that city forced youngCalvin and the other students at Hangest

to seek refuge sixty miles southwest inParis. Moving in with an uncle in the bus-tling capital of France, Calvin began hiscollege studies in 1523 (at age fourteen)at the College de la Marche. Soon hetransferred to a more ecclesiastical andprestigious school, the College deMontaigu, where his college expenseswere paid by some local parishes. Calvincredited an instructor of Spanish heritageat this school for his sound foundationin dialectics and scholastic philosophy.Calvin’s mental acumen brought him ac-claim in philosophy and debate, and evenproduced several preaching opportuni-ties for the teenaged genius.

Although the teachings of Luther andrising French reformers such as JacquesLefevre d’Etaples spread like wildfirethroughout Paris, Calvin was initiallyshielded from these new doctrines whileat college. Friendships outside of theschool in 1527 awakened young Calvinto the errors in the Roman Church, andCalvin started to change his mind aboutbecoming a priest. His father, who hadheld numerous high positions in thechurch, had a falling out with the authori-ties in Noyon at this same time, and thusordered his son to change his studies tolaw. Attending a famous law school inOrleans and then in Bourges, the nowbudding barrister came under the influ-ence of Melchior Wolmer, a humanist fa-vorable to the Reformation. His law stud-ies, however, abruptly ended whenCalvin’s father died (May 26, 1531), and

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he returned to Paris to study Hebrew andthe classics.

At age twenty-two Calvin publishedout of his own pocket his first book, acommentary on the text of Seneca’s DeClementia. Increasing numbers of friend-ships with humanists and French Reform-ers caused him to seriously question theChurch’s authority, and to prompt hisadoption of the Reformed view. The ex-act moment of conversion, long a sub-ject of debate and mystery, occurred sometime during 1533. Calvin speaks of thispart of his life in his intensely personalintroduction to his commentary on thePsalms. In the Psalms, Calvin identifiedpersonally with David’s struggles in life,and thought it fitting to include his biog-raphy in the introduction. Although thelanguage is archaic, let me quote the co-gent section of this introduction dealingwith his conversion:

At first, since I was too obsti-nately devoted to the superstitionsof Popery to be easily extricated fromso profound an abyss of mire, God bya sudden conversion subdued andbrought my mind to a teachable frame,which was more hardened in suchmatters than might have been ex-pected from one of my early period oflife.2

One credited with exercising influenceon Calvin after his conversion wasNicolas Cop, who in November, 1533, be-gan his tenure as the rector of the Uni-versity of Paris. Cop’s inaugural address,entitled “Christian Philosophy,” empha-sized the necessity of a certainty of sal-vation, a feature which would be essen-tial to Calvin’s new belief system. Calvinhad a part in the writing of that address,which infuriated the Sorbonne theolo-

gians who were labeled in the speech as“sophists.” With government officialsnotified, Cop and Calvin both saw thepossibility of joining other reform mindedsouls in prison, and fled Paris. For thenext three years, Calvin lived in variousplaces inside and outside of France, of-ten under assumed names. During part ofthis time, he studied in the excellent li-brary of Louis du Tillet, and began writ-ing The Institutes of the Christian Reli-gion.

Decisive for Calvin was his move toBasel, where Calvin could see the Refor-mation in full swing, thanks to the workof John Oecolampadius, who had abol-ished the mass from worship, and partici-pated in having a union between the civiland ecclesiastical governments.Oecolampadius had died prior to Calvin’sarrival, but the other Reformers welcomedhim, and it was there that he studied He-brew. He continued to write The Insti-tutes, which he published in March, 1536.Calvin, in his travels in Switzerland, brieflyin France, and in the Holy Roman Empire,found that Protestants were falsely de-famed everywhere and, most troubling,that persecution of Protestants in Francewas increasing under King Francis I.Calvin’s humility and the purpose forwriting are again to be found in his ownwords penned to the Introduction to thePsalms:

Calvin speaks of this part of hislife in his intensely personal

introduction to his commentaryon the Psalms.


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My objects were, first, to prove thatthese reports were false and calumni-ous, and thus to vindicate my breth-ren, whose death was precious in thesight of the Lord; and next, that asthe same cruelties might very soonafter be exercised against many un-happy individuals, foreign nationsmight be touched with at least somecompassion towards them and solici-tude about them. When it was thenpublished, it was not that copious andlabored work which it now is, but onlya small treatise containing a summaryof the principal truths of the Christianreligion, and it was published with noother design than that men might knowwhat was the faith held by those whomI saw basely and wickedly defamedby those flagitious and perfidious flat-terers. That my object was not to ac-quire fame, appeared from this, thatimmediately after I left Basle, and par-ticularly from the fact that nobodythere knew that I was the author.3

Calvin was indeed the author, and TheInstitutes of the Christian Religion, whichhe addressed to King Francis I, becamethe most influential book of the Reforma-tion period. His point in writing was toshow that the Christianity that he set forthwas the true historic faith, and that thechanges had in actuality been presump-tuously and erroneously made by theRoman Catholic Church. Codifying theessence of the Christian faith (improvedthrough four editions that saw their finalform in 1559), Calvin set forth the entiredrama of creation, sin, and redemption asGod drew them upon the canvas of Scrip-ture. Stressed throughout The Institutesare the themes of God’s sovereignty andthe necessity of man’s submission toGod’s will. In its final form, Calvin orga-

nized The Institutes according to theApostles’ Creed, and it is that edition thatendures today as the crowning achieve-ment of the great Reformer’s life.

Leaving Basel, Calvin wanted to qui-etly pursue his studies in Strasbourg.However, the Lord’s providence wouldchange those plans. A war between theHoly Roman Empire and France had closedthe most direct route to Strasbourg, andCalvin decided to spend one night inGeneva in July, 1536. Calvin himself de-scribed what happened “as if God hadfrom heaven laid his mighty hand uponme to arrest me.” The one who wouldstrain every nerve to detain Calvin inGeneva was William Farel. In 1535 Farelhad successfully suppressed the mass inGeneva, and had even expelled the monksand nuns out of the city. Farel was quiteaware of his own shortcomings in theol-ogy and organization, and believed withall his heart that God’s providence hadbottled the solutions to all his problemsin the brain of the reluctant young scholarwhose reputation had literally precededhim. Ignoring Calvin’s natural bashfulnessand timidity, Farel threatened him that ifhe did not stay and lead the Reformationin Geneva, God would curse his time ofstudy in Strasbourg. Calvin stayed, andthe rest, as we might say, “is history.”

1 Ronald Vandermey, D.R.E., D.Litt., ispastor of the Bethany Bible Presbyte-rian Church in Glendale, California, andis President of Cohen University andTheological Seminary.2 Rev. James Anderson’s translationfrom the original Latin, which hepublished in 1849; quoted in ParallelClassic Commentary on the Psalms[AMG Publishers, 2005], p. x.3 Ibid.

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CALVIN’S MIDDLE YEARS(1536-1541)

Laurie A. P. Copeland*

EARLY GENEVAN MINISTRY

After the fiery French evangelistGuillaume Farel implored John Calvin tostay in Geneva, Calvin agreed to surren-der his pursuit of a life as a contentedscholar and remain to assist Farel to re-form the city in accordance to the will ofGod. Sixteenth century Geneva was amiddle class city with a small number ofwealthy merchants. Surrounding Genevawere cliffs near the sea, forming walls ofprotection from enemy attacks. A city ofrefuge for many French and Italian be-lievers, Geneva later became the city ofthe esteemed Swiss watch, through theideals of John Calvin (at the time he out-lawed jewelry, resulting in increasedwatch sales and improved technology).Although relying on the support ofBerne, a Swiss Protestant city, French-speaking Geneva was an independentcity-state near the borders of France,Switzerland, and Italy. Governing Genevawere several city councils (magistrates).British author T. L. Parker notes that onMay 26, 1536, “Geneva had become byconstitution an evangelical city.”1 Con-sequently, Geneva’s City Council bannedthe Roman Catholic mass and swept itschurches of relics, including the sparkleand glitter.

Accordingly, Calvin at twenty-sevenbegan his work in September 1536 withthe position of “Professor of Sacred Let-ters.”2 Parker states, “This may mean hepreached without performing any otherparochial duties or that he gave exposi-tory lectures on the Bible.”3 Not yet or-dained into the ministry, Calvin received

high praise for his inspiring sermons whilepreaching the Pauline Epistles.4 Electedpastor in November 1537, Calvin wasworking full time in the Genevan churchSaint Pierre, a former Gothic-RomanCatholic Church divested of its icons,while retaining the stained glass win-dows.

Although serving as a pastor, thecomplete details on Calvin’s ordinationceremony are somewhat sketchy. Biogra-pher John T. McNeill says, “the widelyheld opinion that he was never ordainedto the ministry seems to rest upon theabsence of evidence bearing on the pointamid the scant records of his early weeksin Geneva.”5 However, “Calvin himselfstrongly urged ordination, with the im-position of hands, at a synod held inZurich, in 1538, and in various writingshe stresses the importance of the rite.”6

In his Institutes of the Christian Religionhe mentions that ordinations should takeplace “at stated times of the year in orderthat no one might creep in secretly with-out the consent of the believers, or betoo readily promoted without wit-nesses.”7 Further, he says, “I acceptedthe charge having the authority of a law-ful vocation.”8 Calvin’s ordination seemscertain.

At this time Farel, twenty yearsCalvin’s senior, was serving as a seniorpastor in another church,. Historian PhilipSchaff tells us, “But with rare humilityand simplicity he yielded very soon tothe superior genius of his young friend.”9

Laboring for the glory of God, Calvin andFarel endeavored to reform Geneva andmake it the benchmark for a Christian so-ciety. Calvin wrote three documents whilein Geneva, the Confession of Faith of1536, Articles on the Organization of the


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Church and its Worship at Geneva, anda Catechism of the Church at Geneva.10

Schaff describes Calvin’s Confession asconsisting of “Twenty-one articles inwhich the chief doctrines of the evangeli-cal faith are briefly and clearly stated forthe comprehension of the people. It be-gins with the Word of God, as the rule offaith and practice, and ends with the dutyto the civil magistracy.”11 TheologianJames T. Dennison reveals some concernssurrounding the authorship of Calvin’sConfession saying, “The authorship ofthe confession is still disputed—somefavoring Calvin, others Farel, others ar-guing for co-authorship.”12

Meanwhile, the City Council enactedthe Confession, the Articles on the Or-ganization of the Church, and Catechism,into law on January 16, 1537; but the ac-ceptance of the Articles created dissen-tion, especially among the Anabaptists(who denied infant baptism), with whomCalvin had strongly disagreed. The Ar-ticles described the church’s rights toexercise ecclesiastical discipline indepen-dent of the City Council. Theologian JoelBeeke explains that, “People particularlyobjected to the church’s use of excom-munication to enforce church disci-pline.”13 Sovereign authority meant thechurch had the power to determine whowas worthy to take the Lord’s Supper, andto excommunicate immoral persons.Calvin believed church discipline wasnecessary for the purity of the church,but that power was God-given to thechurch and not rather to civil authorities(cf. Matt 18:15-19). “The Lord knowsthose who are his” (2 Tim 2:19). Conse-quently, Calvin and Farel implementedaggressive reform of the church, whichresulted in persecution, especially fromthe Libertines, who largely were free think-

ers. Theologian Henry B. Smith recountshow “he was feared and opposed by theLibertines of his day, as he is in ourown.”14 Forced to swear to the teachingsof the Confession, citizens who resistedcould not retain their citizenship, butwould face banishment. McNeill says, “Agood many remained in opposition, andeven when the councils gave them thealternative of banishment, their resistancecontinued.”15

And so, desiring to prohibit unre-pentant persons (those who failed tocomply with the confession) from takingthe Lord’s Supper, Calvin argued that thepastors should have the power to pro-hibit the unworthy and excommunicatethe impenitent.16 In January 1538 Genevaruled that every citizen had the right totake the Lord’s Supper and that no minis-ter had permission to exclude anyone.17

Denying the Reformers their rights to ex-ercise independent control over ecclesi-astical discipline caused a tumult to eruptfrom within the council.

Moreover, in March 1538 Genevaadopted the Swiss city Berne’s liturgywithout the consultation of Calvin or Fareland violated the prior agreement de-scribed in the Articles, which had givenGeneva’s ecclesiastical power to thechurch. Outraged at the new proposal,Calvin and Farel refused to honor the newGenevan ordinances or celebrate theLord’s Supper on Easter because of thewidespread immorality. Dennison de-scribes how the two Reformers re-sponded saying:

Hence when Calvin and Farel re-fused to administer the Lord’s Sup-per at Easter 1538, the resulting pub-lic protests drove the two fromGeneva. They were permitted three

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days to clear out of town. By thespring of 1538, the Geneva Confes-sion was a dead letter.18

After the resulting commotion betweenthe Reformers and the council, they werebanished from the city.

LIFE IN STRASBOURG

As exiles, Calvin and Farel departedfrom Geneva, going first to Berne andZurich and then to Basel. According toSchaff, “In Basel they were warmly re-ceived by sympathizing friends.”19 Stay-ing for two months, Farel accepted a callto a church in Neuchatel (Switzerland),where he stayed for the remainder of hislife.20 In September 1538 Calvin traveledto German-speaking Strasbourg, a freeimperial city, where, at the invitation ofMartin Bucer, a former Dominican monkand Strasbourg Reformer, he served aspastor of a church with about four or fivehundred French refugees. Bucer, a pio-neer in the development of a Protestantliturgy, already had largely organized acity-state church, which was helpful toCalvin in his later ministry in Geneva(1541).

At this time Strasbourg was the inter-national capital for the Reformation com-munity, “known as the Antioch of theReformation,” and most of the Frenchrefugees went there from France to es-cape persecution.21 Pastoring what Calvincalled the “little French Church,” was ajoyful time in Calvin’s life.22 Describinghis pastoral diligence, Schaff says, “Heconscientiously attended to pastoralcare, and took a kindly interest in everymember of his flock. In this way, he builtup in a short time a prosperous church,which commanded the respect and admi-ration of the community of Strassburg.”23

“He preached four times a week (twice

on Sunday), and held Bible classes.”24

Calvin also published a Psalter and theApostle’s Creed.25

In addition, Calvin rewrote and en-larged his second Latin edition of the In-stitutes, from six chapters to seventeen,paying more attention to his theology,while maintaining the same theologicaldoctrines that were consistent through-out his life. Author Ford Lewis Battlesnotes that, “A large increment of Augus-tinian material enters the 1539 edition forthe first time.”26 Augustine’s influence onCalvin’s theology was large. Calvin ren-dered a French version for French believ-ers with the purpose that Calvin de-scribes: “…to aid those who desire to beinstructed in the doctrine of salvation.”27

Theologian B. B. Warfield says, “The firstFrench edition of the ‘Institutes,’ then,that of 1541, is a careful translation byCalvin himself (as the title-page and Pre-face alike inform us) of the second Latinedition of 1539.”28 Translating the Insti-tutes from Latin into French helped ad-vance the French language.

Moreover, in 1540 Calvin published acommentary on the book of Romans, thefirst of his twenty-two volumes of Biblecommentaries, which included theologi-cal subjects on sin, justification, sanctifi-cation, and predestination. Calvin said,“For when anyone understands thisEpistle, he has a passage opened to himto the understanding of the whole Scrip-ture.”29 Hence, the Epistle to the Romansis a crucial book to the discovery andknowledge of God. The German Protes-tant August Tholuck describes Calvin’sRomans commentary: “In his [Calvin’s]Exposition on the Epistle to the Romansare united pure Latinity, a solid methodof unfolding and interpreting, founded on


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the principles of grammatical science andhistorical knowledge, a deeply penetrat-ing faculty of mind, and vital piety.30

His first commentary is only the begin-ning of some of the most exquisite writ-ings in church history.

While pastoring and publishing vari-ous works, Calvin met Idelette de Bure,the widow of a former Anabaptist whoconverted to the Reformed faith. Idelettehad been attending the “little church”with her husband and their two little chil-dren before Idelette’s husband died froman illness. In August 1540 Calvin andIdelette married and enjoyed a happymarriage.

Meanwhile, trying to unite the divi-sions occurring between the RomanCatholic Church and Protestants, Calvinattended several conferences in Frank-furt, Worms, and Regensburg and met theGerman scholar Philip Melanchthon, withwhom he developed a close relationship.Melanchthon, an associate of MartinLuther and a learned man, wrote the pre-sentation and apology for the AugsburgConfession. Throughout Calvin’s life hecorresponded with Melanchthon throughnumerous letters, and their friendshipcontinued.

Previously, Bucer laid the groundworkfor the Protestant community with his li-turgical work; his influence was helpfulto Calvin in the development of his ownliturgy. Combining his ideals with thoseof Bucer, Calvin rendered a French liturgythat would be useful in his final Genevanministry; it later become known as theGenevan Liturgy. Calvin closely ob-served the work of other men and learnedfrom them. Schaff states, “Calvin built hisform of worship on the foundation of

Zwingli and Farel, and the services al-ready in use in the Swiss ReformedChurches.”31 In the worship of GodCalvin believed in maintaining theologi-cal and biblical integrity.32 Calvin’s liturgyconsisted of Scripture, prayer, and theLord’s Supper. “And they devoted them-selves to the apostles’ teaching and fel-lowship, to the breaking of bread and theprayers” (Acts 2:42 NKJV). TheologianJohn Leith notes, “Calvin gave seriousattention to the theme.”33 He believedthat the Bible alone was “to be the rule offaith and life,” and not adding to theWord of God, will worship, except whatScripture commanded (cf. Rev 22:18-19).34

Calvin regarded preaching (in the vulgartongue of the people) central to the wor-ship.35 “Nothing which does not lead toedification ought to be received into theChurch.”36 Calvin asserts, “In preaching,language must be used to communicatethought, not to impress the hearers withthe speaker’s learning.”37 Every elementof worship should be with the objectiveof edification.38 Calvin was always in pur-suit of God’s honor. Accordingly, outwarddisplay had no importance, as Leith re-veals, “Feeling, emotion, aesthetics andbeauty were all subordinate to theologi-cal soundness.”39 Moreover, Schaff ex-plains, “He had no sympathy whateverwith Roman Catholic ceremonialism whichwas overloaded with unscriptural tradi-tions and superstitions.”40 Orthodoxysuperseded outward display.

In 1539 the esteemed Italian scholar,Roman Catholic Cardinal JacopoSadoleto, Archbishop of Carpentras, ac-cused the Genevan Protestants of jeop-ardizing the unity of the church. Schaffdescribes Sadoleto as “leaning towardsa moderate semi-evangelical reform fromwithin the Catholic Church.”41 Parker tells

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us that Sadoleto “addressed a letter tothe council calling Geneva back to thefaith of its fathers.”42 Writing an exposi-tion of the Catholic doctrines to Geneva,Sadoleto provided an eloquent argumentfor the Catholic faith, but failed to men-tion the Scriptures.43 This event brewedzeal in Calvin, as Schaff explains, “ButCalvin, having read it at Strasbourg, for-got all his injuries, and forthwith an-swered it with so much truth and elo-quence, that Sadolet immediately gave upthe whole affair as desperate.”44 Calvinreasoned from the Scriptures with wis-dom: “Our cause, as it is supported bythe truth of God, will be no loss for a com-plete defense.”45 With great persuasion,Calvin defended the Reformed doctrines.Seen as a type of savior, Calvin rescuedGeneva from its former entanglement andyoke of Roman Catholicism. This eventhighlights an “important and interestingcontroversy which occurred in the Ger-many period of Calvin’s life, and left apermanent impression on history.”46

Parker declares, “This is one of that bril-liant set of writings which emerged fromhis stay in Strasbourg and which, purelyas literature, he never surpassed.”47

RETURN TRIP TO GENEVA

In the meantime the city of Genevawas much different from the time ofCalvin’s banishment. Subsequent toCalvin and Farel’s displacement, the cityplummeted to near destruction.48 Theproblems consisted of “internal distur-bances,” and it was during this time thatthe former exile would return, rebuild, andrevive the nearly desolate city.49 Calvin’swritings to Sadoleto caught the attentionof the Genevan officials, and many of hisformer opponents now wanted him back.British author Diarmaid MacCulloch de-scribes Calvin’s situation:

He did not forget his Strassburg ex-periences when in 1541 he had theremarkable satisfaction of finding him-self invited back to Geneva by a chas-tened set of city governors. The reli-gious chaos had dispersed, and theonly remedy they could see was toreemploy their austere former guest.50

Albeit, because of the former oppositionhe experienced during his earlier Genevanministry, this was not an easy move forCalvin. Nevertheless, Calvin leftStrasbourg and returned to Geneva. Itturned out that his experience inStrasbourg was the preparation for sucha time as this.

Although the Genevan officials sentCalvin and Farel away as disgraced ex-iles, indigent and unemployed, God pur-posed to use it for the good. We are “per-secuted, but not forsaken; cast down, butnot destroyed” (2 Cor 4:9). Calvin’s exilewas an exceedingly bitter time for him; heleft Geneva as an outcast, but returnedas a savior. In addition, it turned out thatCalvin’s Strasbourg ministry was themost enjoyable time of his life. He enteredinto a blessed marriage with a woman hecherished. He enjoyed a prosperous min-istry to the dear people of God at his “littleFrench church,” and he wrote some ofthe most brilliant theological writings inchurch history. We can never fully un-derstand God’s providential workings,but, “we know that all things work to-gether for good to them that love God, tothem who are the called according to hispurpose” (Rom 8:28).

*Laurie Copeland, a WRS graduate(M.R.S. 2008), maintains an active minis-try on the internet and teaches and men-tors women and children in the Reformedfaith. She and her husband live in Seattle.


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1 T. H. L. Parker, John Calvin: ABiography (Louisville: WestminsterJohn Knox, 2007), 79.2 John T. McNeill, The History andCharacter of Calvinism (New York:Oxford University Press, 1967), 136.3 T. H. L. Parker, John Calvin: ABiography, 80.4 Guilielmus Baum, Eduardus Cunitz,Eduardus Reuss, Editors, OperaCalvini (Corpus Reformatorum) 10b,91, quoted in T. H. L. Parker, JohnCalvin: A Biography, 80.

5 John T. McNeill, The History andCharacter of Calvinism, 136.6 Ibid., 137.7 John Calvin, Institutes of ChristianReligion, Book 4:4:10, John T. McNeill,ed., Ford Lewis Battles, trans (Louis-ville: Westminster John Knox Press,1960), 1079.8 John T. McNeill, The History andCharacter of Calvinism, 137.9 Philip Schaff, “The Swiss Reforma-tion,” History of the Christian Church(reprinted; Peabody: Hendrickson,2002), 8:350.10 Robert L. Reymond, John Calvin: HisLife and Influence (Great Britain:Christian, Focus Publications, 2004), 61.The reader can find Calvin’s Confessionin James. T. Dennison’s book onReformed Confessions of the 16th and17th Centuries: Vol. I.11 Philip Schaff, “The Swiss Reforma-tion,” History of the Christian Church,8:353.12 James T. Dennison, Compiler,Reformed Confessions of the 16th and17th Centuries in English Translation(Grand Rapids: Reformation HeritageBooks, 2008), 1:394.13 Joel R. Beeke, Puritan ReformedSpirituality (Grand Rapids: Reforma-tion Heritage Books, 2004), 61.14 Henry B. Smith, Faith and Philoso-phy, “Address before General Assemblyof Presbyterian Church,” St. Louis 1855,98-9, quoted in Schaff, “The SwissReformation,” History of the ChristianChurch, 8:293.15 John T. McNeill, The History andCharacter of Calvinism, 142.16 Robert L. Reymond, John Calvin: HisLife and Influence, 62. The reader canfind a simple recap of what occurred inReymond’s book.

The Epistle to the Ro-mans is a crucial book tothe discovery and knowl-edge of God. The German

Protestant AugustTholuck describes

Calvin’s Romans com-mentary: “In his

[Calvin’s] Exposition onthe Epistle to the Romansare united pure Latinity, asolid method of unfoldingand interpreting, founded

on the principles ofgrammatical science andhistorical knowledge, a

deeply penetrating facultyof mind, and vital piety.”30

His first commentary isonly the beginning of

some of the most exquis-ite writing in church

history.

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17 John T. McNeill, The History andCharacter of Calvinism, 142.18 James T. Dennison, Compiler,Reformed Confessions of the 16th and17th Centuries, 1:394.19 Philip Schaff, “The Swiss Reforma-tion,” History of the Christian Church,8:361.20 Robert L. Reymond, John Calvin: HisLife and Influence, 65.21 Ibid., 66.22 Ibid.23 Philip Schaff, “The Swiss Reforma-tion,” History of the Christian Church,8:369.24 Ibid., 8:368.25 Robert L. Reymond, John Calvin: HisLife and Influence, 66. These songswere sung a cappella.26 Ford Lewis Battles, Assisted by JohnR. Walchenbach, Analysis of theInstitutes of the Christian Religion ofJohn Calvin (Phillipsburg: P & RPublishing, 1980), 13.27 John Calvin, Institutes of ChristianReligion (French translation), quoted inB. B. Warfield’s “Calvin and Calvinism,”In The Works of Benjamin B. Warfield,(reprinted; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000),5:390.28 B.B. Warfield, “On the LiteraryCriticism of the Institutes.” In TheWorks of Benjamin B. Warfield, 5:392.29 John Calvin, “The Epistle of Paul tothe Romans,” Vol XIX. Calvin’sCommentaries. Trans. John Owen(Grand Rapids: Baker Books), 24.30 Fr. August Tholuck, “Commentary onthe Epistle to the Romans,” 3d ed. 1831,19, quoted in Phillip Schaff, The SwissReformation,” History of the ChristianChurch, 8:282.31 Philip Schaff, “The Swiss Reforma-tion,” History of the Christian Church,8:371.

32 John H. Leith, Introduction to theReformed Tradition: A Way of Being theChristian Community, (Louisville:Westminster, 1981), 175.33 Ibid.34 Westminster Confession of Faith 1:2.35 John H. Leith, Introduction to theReformed Tradition: A Way of Being theChristian Community, 176.36 John H. Leith, “Form of AdministeringBaptism,” Introduction to the ReformedTradition: A Way of Being the Chris-tian Community, 176.37 John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentary onCorinthians, 1 Cor 2:3-7, 1:98-104,quoted in John H. Leith, “Introductionto the Reformed Tradition: A Way ofBeing the Christian Community, 176.38 John H. Leith, Introduction to theReformed Tradition: A Way of Being theChristian Community, 176.39 Ibid., 175.40 Philip Schaff, “The Swiss Reforma-tion,” History of the Christian Church,8:371.41 Ibid., 8:400.42 T. H. L. Parker, John Calvin: ABiography, 104.43 Philip Schaff, “The Swiss Reforma-tion,” History of the Christian Church,8:401.44 Ibid., 8:399.45 Ibid., 8:405.46 Ibid., 8:399.47 T. H. L. Parker, John Calvin: ABiography, 104.48 Philip Schaff, “The Swiss Reforma-tion,” History of the Christian Church,8:425. Subsequent to Calvin’s banish-ment, the regime was “demoralized andsplit up into factions.”49 Ibid.50 Dairmaid MacCulloch, The Reforma-tion (New York: Penguin Group, 2003),191-192.


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CALVIN’S LATTER YEARS(1541-1564)

Jerry Gardner*John Calvin was born in Noyon,

France, on July 10, 1509. In 1535, becauseof his close association with Nicolas Cop,rector of the University of Paris who an-nounced for Martin Luther, Calvin fledParis for Geneva. There he befriendedGuillaume Farel, a French evangelist andfounder of Reformed churches. Farelasked Calvin to remain in Geneva to as-sist in the city’s reformation movement.Calvin stayed until 1538, when the peopleof Geneva voted against Farel and Calvinand asked both reformers to leave. Calvinwent to Strasbourg where he met andmarried the widow Idelette de Bure. Thecouple had one child who died in infancy.

In 1541 the Genevans prevailed uponCalvin to return and to lead themagain in reforming the church. He re-mained in Geneva for the rest of Hislife . . . His wife died in 1549, and hedid not remarry. Although he receiveda house and a stipend from the gov-ernment, . . . he did not become a citi-zen of Geneva until 1559.1

Calvin was a provincial French law-yer, scholar, theologian, thinker, writer andecclesiastical statesman, but he was alsomuch, much more. Most notably, Calvinhad a passion for preaching.

PREACHING SCHEDULE

George Gordon says that in Calvin’sInstitutes, “it is impossible not to feelthe passion of the preacher.”2 ThoughCalvin was inclined to quiet study, hisGod-given preaching passion was evi-dent throughout his public life in his de-manding preaching schedule.

On Sunday he took always the NewTestament, except for a few Psalms onSunday afternoon. During the week. . . it was always the Old Testament.He took five years to complete theBook of Acts. He preached 46 ser-mons on Thessalonians, 186 onCorinthians, 86 on the Pastorals, 43on Galatians, 48 on Ephesians. Hespent five years on his Harmony ofthe Gospels. That was just his Sun-day work! During the weekdays inthose five years he preached 159 ser-mons on Job, 200 on Deuteronomy,353 on Isaiah, and 123 on Genesis.3

Calvin’s preaching schedule was burden-some indeed. When one understandsCalvin’s health problems, it becomes clearthat Calvin was called of God. It also be-comes clear that Calvin had great respectfor God’s call. His

health was never robust; his illnessesincluded chronic asthma, indigestion,and catarrh, [an inflammation of themucous membrane]. In 1558, he be-came very frail with the onset of quar-tan fever [a type of malaria in whichthe paroxysms or convulsions occurevery fourth day]. He died on May27, 1564 and was buried in an un-marked grave in Geneva.4

Calvin could easily echo Paul in 1 Cor9:16: “for though I preach the gospel, Ihave nothing to glory of: for necessity islaid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if Ipreach not the gospel.”

REFORMATION WRITINGS

Calvin was a great leader of the Ref-ormation. His abilities as thinker, scholar,writer, and preacher gave necessary im-petus to the Reform movement. In fact,

12


.

Calvin . . . may well have saved Prot-estantism when it was at low ebb.In Germany after Luther’s death[1546], Charles V [of the Holy RomanEmpire] was winning the war [againstFrance]. While Wittenberg and theElector of Saxony were vanquished,Calvinism was flourishing to the northand to the west.5

Calvinism flourished because of Calvin’sGod-given, unique talents. Calvin’s Insti-tutes had tremendous positive influencefor Protestantism, but that positive influ-ence was not due to the Institutes alone.In 1558 Calvin founded an academy totrain ministers. Theodore Beza was rec-tor of Calvin’s “college” that soon wouldbecome a university. The school wouldmake Geneva a European center of learn-ing as new converts, seekers, and lostsouls came to Geneva to sit, to listen, andto learn. More often than not, they leftGeneva as missionaries. John Knox, forexample, a former galley slave on theMediterranean, got his training atCalvin’s academy. When Knox leftGeneva, he went home to Edinburgh inScotland to send young ministers to learnfrom Calvin in Geneva. Geneva became a16th century international center. Barzunsays that Geneva was abuzz “with for-eigners of all ages and origins. It was a‘Mecca’ for the enthusiasts, a city of ref-uge for exiles.”6

Additional influence for Protestant-ism came from Calvin’s other writings. Forexample, he wrote letters to political fig-ures across Europe commenting on thepolitical changes on the continent. Hisletters showed his interest in statecraft,the results of which were more than eccle-siastical. Accordingly, Douglas F. Kellywrites,

after [Calvin] had drafted the Ecclesi-astical Ordinances for Geneva, . . .the satisfied town councils asked himto take time off from his preachingministry in order to codify the purelycivil and constitutional laws ofGeneva. Calvin was well able tohandle the . . . principles of legal codi-fication because of his earlier train-ing as a lawyer under some of themost famous legal minds of the day.7

“His Renaissance education . . . combinedwith” his scholarly mind and legal train-

Calvinism flourishedbecause of Calvin’s God-

given, unique talents.Calvin’s Institutes hadtremendous positive

influence for Protestant-ism, but that positive

influence was not due tothe Institutes alone. In

1558 Calvin founded anacademy to train minis-

ters. Theodore Beza wasrector of Calvin’s “col-lege” that soon would

become a university. Theschool would makeGeneva a European

center of learning as newconverts, seekers, and

lost souls came to Genevato sit, to listen, and tolearn. More often thannot, they left Geneva as

missionaries.


13

ing explain his bent to theological mat-ters and legal concerns.8

An early and primary example of thosetheological and legal concerns is foundin Calvin’s dedicatory epistle in the firstedition of his Institutes. He dedicated thefirst edition to Francis I, king of France.The dedication stands supreme as a de-fense of the persecuted evangelicals ofFrance, of which Calvin was one. In theepistle, Calvin showed great concern forproper and ethical government. It was arefrain that would remain with himthroughout his days.9

Additional influence to the advance-ment of the Reformation came fromCalvin’s commentary writings. He dedi-cated several commentaries to differentrulers to encourage them not to hinder“the work of the Reformation.”10

The commentaries on the CanonicalEpistles honored Edward VI of En-gland; the commentary on Isaiah wasdedicated to Elizabeth I; and those onHebrews ‘to the Most Mighty andMost Serene Prince, SigismundAugustus,11 king of Poland.12

Calvin knew the influence rulers had, sohe made use of their positions. It was notmanipulative, nor was it unethical, but itwas beneficial to the Reformation.

THE SERVETUS AFFAIR

The Michael Servetus affair came dur-ing Calvin’s struggle with the Libertines.The city council, with Calvin’s consent,had Servetus, an anti-Trinitarian, burnedat the stake in Geneva on October 27,1553. Servetus was found guilty of blas-phemy, a crime punishable by death. Itwas a punishment consistent with thespirit of the age. Schaff, writing at theend of the 19th century, said, “From the

standpoint of modern Christianity, . . . theburning of Servetus admits to no justifi-cation. Even the most admiring biogra-phers of Calvin lament and disapprovehis conduct in this tragedy, which hasspotted his fame and given to Servetusthe glory of martyrdom.”13 Taken out ofcontext, Schaff’s comment condemnsCalvin’s action, but Schaff does offer amoderate defense of Calvin when he saysthat we should consider Calvin’s actionsin the light of 16th century Europe andunderstand that his actions were consis-tent with the time. Calvin acted from “astrict sense of duty and in harmony withthe public law and dominant sentimentof his age, which justified the death pen-alty for heresy and blasphemy, and ab-horred toleration as involving indifferenceto the truth.”14

According to Schaff, Calvin’s act“was an error in judgment, but not of theheart, and must be excused, though itcannot be justified.” Calvin’s time was a“semi-barbarous” time. Heretics—per-ceived and real—abounded. Innocentwomen “were cruelly tortured and roastedto death.” Rome had its Inquisition.France, under Rome’s auspices, put todeath Huguenots by the thousands.Thus, to judge John Calvin with 21st cen-tury standards of correctness is wrongindeed. Perhaps Calvin, from his view-point, would rise to condemn us and our21st century tolerance and lack of zeal fortruth. Some points of concern before wecondemn Calvin are these: Servetus wasguilty of blasphemy, his sentence was inaccordance to the times, he had been sen-tenced to death by others, and the sen-tence was pronounced by the councilsof Geneva. Further, Calvin visitedServetus in his last hours to bring a mea-sure of comfort to the condemned man.

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LIBERTINE STRUGGLES

The Libertines were heretics whowanted freedom without law. They hadlittle respect for Calvin’s ideas aboutchurch government and church disci-pline; so they purposed to destroy anyinfluence Calvin had. His struggleagainst these antinomians was so greatat times that the reformer despaired ofsuccess against their attacks. He wroteto Farel on December 14, 1547, “Affairsare in such a state of confusion that Idespair of being able longer to retain theChurch, at least by my own endeavors.May the Lord hear your incessant prayersin our behalf,” and three days later hewrote to Pierre Viret, a close friend, “Wick-edness has now reached such a pitch herethat I hardly hope that the Church can beupheld much longer, at least by means ofmy ministry.”

For the most part, Calvin’s enemieswere the same as those who had drivenhim from his first stay in Geneva. Accord-ing to Schaff, they never consented tohis recall, and according to Calvin, theruin of the church mattered little to them.Their desire was to have liberty to do asthey pleased. They refused to be subjectto laws. Calvin attributed their work toSatan and to Satan’s workshop. “Theseevil-doers,” he wrote, “were endowedwith too great a degree of power to beeasily overcome . . . [they] wished onlyfor unbridled freedom.” The battle wasso great that Calvin wrote Viret, “believeme, my power is broken, unless Godstretch forth his hand.”

According to Schaff, the Libertineshated Calvin more than they hated thePope. They named their dogs “Calvin”and phonetically twisted Calvin’s nameto rhyme with “Cain.” The struggle lasted

until 1556. Just before its end, Calvinwrote to another friend “Dogs bark at meon all sides. Everywhere I am saluted withthe name of ‘heretic,’ and all the calum-nies that can possibly be invented areheaped upon me; in a word, the enemiesamong my own flock attack me withgreater bitterness than my beloved en-emies among the papists.”

Calvin was humbled, not embittered;he was determined to serve God regard-less of the unrivaled and unjustifiedtrouble. He continued to discharge all hisduties admirably. He even “found time towrite some of his most important works.”

Schaff said that it seems incrediblethat a man of such poor health could tri-umph over such determined enemies overso long a time and still be able to carryout his so great duties. He attributedCalvin’s victory to “the justice of his

Schaff said that it seemsincredible that a man ofsuch poor health could

triumph over such deter-mined enemies over solong a time and still beable to carry out his sogreat duties. He attrib-uted Calvin’s victory to“the justice of his causeand the moral purity and

‘majesty’ of hischaracter.”


15

cause and the moral purity and ‘majesty’of his character.” Calvin himself gaveglory to God for sustaining him when hewrote, “I have every reason to be con-tented with the service of that good Mas-ter, who has accepted me and maintainedme in the honorable office which I hold,however contemptible in the eyes of theworld. I should, indeed, be ungratefulbeyond measure if I did not prefer thiscondition to all the riches and honors ofthe world.” Calvin’s victory came in Mayof 1555 in Geneva, when the Libertines“were finally defeated by a failure of anattempted rebellion.” In light of thesefacts, John Calvin shines as a light of theReformation, a godly man whom we dowell to honor and emulate during this 500th

anniversary of his birth.

____

*Jerry Gardner is a minister in the BiblePresbyterian Church, Faith Presbytery,and is working to plant a new church inKnoxville, Tennessee.1 “John Calvin (1905-1564): BiographicalSketch,” Reformed Presbyterian Church(Covenanted); www.covenanter.org, 1-3.2 George A. Gordon, Ultimate Concep-tions of Faith (Boston and New York:Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1903),32.3 Southern Baptist Journal of Theology,3:2 (Summer 1999), as quoted inwww.veritasdomain.wordpress.com/2008/02/28/wow-john-calvins, Feb. 28,2008.4 “John Calvin (1905-1564): BiographicalSketch,” 1-3.5 Jacques Barzun, From Dawn toDecadence: 1500 to the Present: 500Years of Western Cultural Life (NewYork: Harper Collins, 2000), 34-36.

6 Ibid.7 Douglas F. Kelly, The Emergence ofLiberty in the Modern World: TheInfluence of Calvin on Five Govern-ments from the 16th through the 18th

Centuries (Phillipsburg , New Jersey:P&R Publishing, 1992), 4-6.8 Ibid.9 Ibid.10 Ibid.11 John Calvin, Commentaries on theEpistle to the Hebrews, transl. by JohnOwen (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. EerdmansPublishing Company, 1949), ixx.12 Kelly, The Emergence of Liberty, 4-6.13 Phillip Schaff, History of the Chris-tian Church (Grand Rapids: Wm. B.Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1910),8:690-691.14 Ibid. This and all subsequentlyquoted information are taken from thissource.

“Preach the Word; beprepared in season andout of season; correct,rebuke, and encourage,with great patience and

careful instruction.”2 Timothy 4:2

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DEFINING ANDDEFENDING

A BRIEF DEFINITION OFCALVINISM

Ben Dally1

One of the oft-repeated commandsGod gave to the Israelites during theirearly history as a people was stated sim-ply to remember (Deut 6:1-15, 8:1-20); toremember him, to remember his words, torecall his many great deeds, and to becareful that their entire lives were shapedin every detail by their accurate, consis-tent, obedient remembrances. Biblical his-tory amply recounts many examples ofIsrael’s failure in this regard, and the di-sastrous consequences that were reapedas a result. Failure to remember God andhis words was an immeasurable offenseas well as tragedy, and this truth is onethat has continued to resound with deeprelevance throughout history and intoour own day.

As we remember the great servant ofGod, John Calvin, we primarily remembera man who through his life, his scholar-ship and his ministry thundered boldlyin the midst of a church and in the midstof a cultural context which had largelyforgotten the true words of God. 2 Hesought to remind those who had ears tohear that the Almighty God had spoken,and that his words were to be heeded inall corners of public and private life. Hewas not seeking to invent a new system,or to create a new teaching—but to re-state clearly what God had already said,and to apply it probingly to the mindsand hearts of the individuals (and the in-stitutions) of his place and time. History

tells us that John Calvin was to a greatdegree quite successful in this undertak-ing, in that his teachings were heard andaccepted by many.3 As a result it is diffi-cult to quantify the impact that this man’scall to remember had on the path that his-tory was to take concerning not only thechurch, but also Western society as awhole. 4

If Calvin’s doctrine and its practicalimplications (hereafter simply Calvinism)are in fact synonymous with Biblicism(which Calvinists assert), it is the writer’sconviction that the people of God in ourday and the culture at large also stand inneed of this cry to remembrance, andwould do well to visit and to revisit oftenwhat this great theologian has to say tous about the character, works and wordsof God. To that end this essay will at-tempt to cursorily define the system com-monly known as Calvinism, then brieflyexpound its main tenets, and thirdly pro-pose several ways in which Calvinisticdoctrine impacts practical life in both thepublic and private sectors.

To begin, “Calvinism” represents dif-ferent things in the minds of differentpeople. For some, the term denotes sim-ply what is contained in the writings ofJohn Calvin himself, primarily as ex-pressed in his final edition of The Insti-tutes of the Christian Religion, his ex-pansive biblical commentary, and hisother treatises on various subjects andpieces of correspondence. To others,Calvinism is primarily to be understood


17

as the doctrinal system espoused by thosewho deem themselves the “Reformed”churches in distinction from Lutheranism,Anabaptism, and other progeny of whatmight be loosely grouped together underthe term “Protestant.” This generally co-herent doctrinal system (though certainlynot entirely uniform in every detail), as ex-pressed in various Reformed formulas andconfessions, is primarily acknowledged tohave been derived from the teachings ofJohn Calvin. Perhaps its most general (andmost well known) formulation was com-posed at the Synod of Dort in 1618, in re-sponse to the Five Points of Arminianismderived from the teachings of JacobusArminius and his followers. A third andperhaps the most broad definition of Cal-vinism, according to B. B. Warfield, is “theentire body of conceptions, theological,ethical, philosophical, social, political,which, under the influence of the mastermind of John Calvin, raised itself to domi-nance in the Protestant lands of the post-Reformation age, and has left a permanentmark not only upon the thought of man-kind, but upon the life-history of men, thesocial order of civilized peoples, and eventhe political organization of States.” 5 Ob-viously there is great overlap among thesethree definitions; however, for sake of clar-ity and for the purpose of this article, Cal-vinism will be defined in accordance withthe second definition given above, mostpopularly known as TULIP, the “FivePoints of Calvinism,” or the doctrines ofgrace. We will briefly define and expoundthese points and then trace some of thepractical implications of these basic Cal-vinistic propositions.

It is perhaps most important to beginwith an overarching construct consistingof the Calvinist’s acknowledgment of thecentrality of the immensity of the glory

and absolute sovereignty of God. B. B.Warfield can be quoted as saying thatat its most basic, “Calvinism is that sightof the majesty of God that pervades allof life and all of experience.”6 To quoteat greater length, according to Warfield,Calvinism is

a profound apprehension of God inHis majesty, with the poignant real-ization which inevitably accompa-nies this apprehension, of the rela-tion sustained to God by the crea-ture. The Calvinist is the man whohas seen God, and who, having seenGod in His glory, is filled on the onehand with a sense of his own un-worthiness to stand in God’s sightas a creature, and much more as asinner, and on the other hand, withadoring wonder that neverthelessthis God is a God who receives sin-ners. He who believes in God with-out reserve and is determined thatGod shall be God to him in all his

He was not seeking toinvent a new system, or to

create a new teaching—but to restate clearly whatGod had already said, andto apply it probingly to the

minds and hearts of theindividuals (and the

institutions) of his placeand time. History tells usthat John Calvin was to a

great degree quitesuccessful in this

undertaking.

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thinking, feeling, and willing—in theentire compass of his life activities,intellectual, moral and spiritual—throughout all his individual socialand religious relations, is, by force ofthat strictest of all logic which pre-sides over the outworking of prin-ciples into thought and life, by thevery necessity of the case, a Calvin-ist.”7

This grand vision of the absolute maj-esty of God, which was so crucial to theexperience of John Calvin (as well asJonathan Edwards and other great Cal-vinists), rightly lays the foundation forthe rest of the system—not only in aphilosophical sense, but in a practical andexperiential sense as well.8 Followingfrom this commitment to seeing, under-standing and seeking to reveal the gloryof God, the following “Five Points of Cal-vinism” can be elaborated within theirgreater context as they deal primarily withGod, his relationship to man, and what isnecessary for man’s salvation.

Point 1: Total DepravityThis doctrine answers the question,

“Why and from what does man need tobe saved?” Total depravity is the biblicalassertion that when man fell into sin inthe Garden of Eden, the disastrous effectswere total, meaning that they extendedinto every facet of creation and into ev-ery facet of man himself—mind, body,spirit and will. As a result, man in his natu-ral state is now spiritually dead, is boundhelplessly by the Devil and by sin, is in-capable of comprehending the things ofthe Spirit of God, is corrupt in his verynature and is given over perpetually tosin in his thoughts, attitudes and behav-ior (Rom 5:12; Eph 2:1-3; 2 Tim 2:25; 1 Cor2:14; Ps 51:5; Rom 6:15-23; 7:21-24; Gen

6:5). As one who is spiritually dead, manis worthy only of eternal damnation (Rom3:23), and because he is absolutely dead,he is completely unable even to open hiseyes or to turn his head towards God—much less muster up faith, love or wor-ship to him, just as a physically dead manis unable to open his eyes or to turn hishead. For this reason, man must bebrought back to life, “born again,” regen-erated—he can in no way save himself,prepare himself for salvation, or causehimself to believe. This must be an act ofAlmighty God, the Creator of all things,he who raises the dead, the only onewhose words make what is from what wasnot (Jer 13:23; Eph 2:4-10). Because of theextent to which our sin has completelyincapacitated us, salvation must be trulyof the Lord, from beginning to end (Ps3:8; Jonah 2:9; Rev 7:10).

Point 2: Unconditional ElectionUnconditional election answers the

question, “On what basis is man saved?”This doctrine teaches that those whomGod delivers from sin and death, he doesso according to his good pleasure alone,in accordance with his will as held frometernity past, not on the basis of anygood thing in any man (as all are totallydepraved and worthy of eternal damna-tion), or because of any foreknown faithor good works that would be performedat some point in life. God’s choosing ofindividuals to be saved is his own sover-eign prerogative, and serves to magnifyhis absolute sovereignty in choosingwhom he will and in passing over whomhe will.

This doctrine illuminates the immea-surable bounty of his kindness and gracethat chooses to give life to some whodeserve only death. This doctrine also


19

stands firmly against any form of self-righ-teousness in any man who would wantto attribute any goodness to himself ormake any presumptuous claim on themercy of God, as though he had anyboast to make before the Almighty King.God’s election serves his purposes andis for the sake of his glory, and thereforeleaves man with no response other thanawe and wonder toward God, and grati-tude for his completely underserved kind-ness (Deut 7:7, Luke 4:25-27, John 15:6,Rom 9, Eph 1:4-5).

Point 3: Limited AtonementThe doctrine of limited atonement

answers the question, “Who exactly isto be saved?” This doctrine teaches thatthe atoning work of Christ at the crossmade full and perfect satisfaction for thesins of the elect (those whom God hadchosen in eternity) only, not for all menin general or for no man in particular, whichis essentially no man at all. On one end ofthe spectrum lie the Universalists, whoclaim that Christ died to save all men, andtherefore, all men will be saved. This weknow to be biblically untenable in that allmen are not saved (Matt 7:13-14), andtherefore it is nonsensical to believe thatthe efficacy of the atonement extends toall men.

Arminians stand in the middle sayingthat Christ died for no one in particular,but potentially for anyone who will be-lieve or ‘decide for’ Christ, at which mo-ment of faith the atonement becomes ef-ficacious to the new believer. This, ofcourse, is inconsistent with both the bib-lical doctrines of total depravity and un-conditional election, in that a spirituallydead man cannot ‘decide for Christ’ andtherefore apply redemption to himself, aswell as the fact that salvation is of God

alone on the basis of his sovereign elec-tion only and not on man’s choosingwhen he would like to be saved. Thismakeing a mockery of the biblical teach-ing regarding God’s sovereignty, essen-tially makes man more powerful than Godin his own salvation. In the Bible it is clearthat Christ died to save “his people,” “hissheep,” and gave himself up for thechurch specifically and not for mankindin general (Eph 1:4; John 17:9; Matt 26:28;Eph 5:25; Rom 4:25; Isa 53:11; John 6:37).The price that Jesus paid will be ineffec-tual in no sense. Every man whom Christpaid for will be saved, and they only.

Point 4: Irresistible GraceThe doctrine of irresistible grace is

perhaps most simply explained by Rom8:29, which states, “Those whom he pre-destined he also called.” God not onlyelects or chooses men in eternity past,he also effects the means by which theirsalvation is made efficacious by apply-ing his grace to them through his call.The central question that is answered bythis doctrine is, “Is God’s plan everthwarted?” Biblically speaking, the an-swer is a resounding “NO,” and this ap-plies to the salvation of men as much asto anything. If God has purposed to save

God’s choosing of indi-viduals to be saved is hisown sovereign preroga-tive, and serves to mag-nify his absolute sover-

eignty in choosing whomhe will and in passing

over whom he will.

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a man, and has elected him from the foun-dations of eternity, then it follows un-avoidably that that man will receiveGod’s call and his grace, and will be savedby it. In other words, man’s will cannotultimately overpower God’s will, as Godis sovereign, and man is not (John 6:37;6:44-45; Rom 8:14; Gal 1:15; 1 Pet 5:10).

Point 5: Perseverance of the SaintsThe doctrine of the perseverance of

the saints (stated in other words by someas “the Perseverance of God”) conveysthe idea that those whom God saves cannever lose their salvation, but will perse-vere to the end by the grace of God. Againthis doctrine speaks to the immutabilityand absolute sovereign power of God,which cannot be thwarted by man in anyway. Man cannot wriggle himself freefrom the grasp of the Almighty, and Godhimself in his faithfulness provides all thatis needed for his children to be sustained,protected, and nurtured toward maturityin Christ to the very end. They will not becast off, or wander off on their own, butultimately will be brought to the purposethat God has decreed for them. Again, Rom8:29 is instructive: “And those whom hepredestined he also called, and thosewhom he called he also justified, and thosewhom he justified he also glorified.” Wesee that there is a progression that isrooted in the sovereign decree of God.Those whom he chooses will be glorified,and neither the will of man nor the as-sault of the enemy will ever be able toundermine his sovereign will (Phil 1:6;John 6:39; 10:28; Rom 5:10; 8:1, 28-39).

By way of conclusion, the above doc-trines lead to several implications. Onboth the levels of biblical and systematictheology, the “Five Points of Calvinism”are well documented and supported both

textually and logically. However, beyondtheological formulation at an abstractlevel, lies the urgent need of the churchand the world today to appropriate inunderstanding and in practice the fullweight of these propositions.

Today’s culture is opposed to the ideaof a God who has supreme power andwho rightfully demands unwavering loy-alty from man, and is bent on a view ofmankind that exalts his self-determinationand the weight of his own right to haveno master but himself. In this culture andchurch that continue to lose their bear-ings and give in to idolatry the basic te-nets of Calvinism sound a clarion call. Ina world and in a church where the under-standing of the heinousness of sin hasall but disappeared, the doctrine of totaldepravity calls us to remember the wagesof sin and the degree to which each of usin every facet of our being has been in-fected and stands under the sentence ofdeath. In a context where our self-confi-dence and the fashioning of God in ourown likeness has all but eliminated aware-ness of the fact that we cannot save our-selves no matter how positively we think,or how morally we attempt to live, Cal-vinism clearly presents the unmerited fa-vor of God for sinners, and the unfoldingplan of the Almighty God that cannot bethwarted by any power or principality, beit man or the Devil himself. In a world thatwonders what the truth is, or what thepurpose of life is—hopelessly resignedto an unknown fate, Calvinism stretchesforth the gracious revelation of God him-self unto the knowledge of the highestend man could ever comprehend, to know,to enjoy, and to glorify God both nowand forever.


21

Calvinism certainly has its conse-quences, and failure to remember thewords, works and character of God as setforth in the Scripture and taught by Cal-vinism also has dire consequences, manyof which are sadly visible in the worldand in the church today. May God con-tinue to raise up more and more men who,like John Calvin, will boldly and clearlycall people to remember—to remembertheir God, to remember his character, hisworks and his words; and might thecourse of history be set on a new trajec-tory, to the glory and praise of God.

1 Ben Dally is a senior student atWestern Reformed Seminary, scheduledto receive his M.Div. this year.2 Cairns, Earle E., Christianity Throughthe Centuries (Grand Rapids:Zondervan, 1996), 272-274.3 Ibid., 300-305.4 Shelly, Bruce L., Church History inPlain Language (Nashville: Nelson,1995), 260-262.5 Warfield, B. B., “Calvinism,” JohannJakob Herzog, Philip Schaff, AlbertHauck, eds., The New Schaff-HerzogEncyclopedia of Religious Knowledge,1:359.6 Warfield, B.B., Calvin as a Theolo-gian and Calvinism Today, quoted inA. N. Martin, The Practical Implica-tions of Calvinism (Edinburgh: Bannerof Truth, 1979), 4.7 Ibid.8 Cairns, Christianity Through theCenturies, 302-303.

IN DEFENSE OF THEINFLUENCE OFJOHN CALVIN

Edward T. Oliver1

Seldom in history does a man appearon the earthly scene in an optimum time,possessed of talents of intellect and lead-ership that he may use to influence hisown age and those to follow. Less oftenwill such a man’s influence be so com-pletely to the good in what he teachesand exemplifies. So many influential menleave muddy tracks across the surfacewhere they have trod, whether in teach-ing or living. Of John Calvin it may besaid that both his doctrine and the ex-ample of his life have been beneficial tohis own age and to subsequent ages.

In John Calvin, time, place, and talentwere ordained by God. Indeed, regardinghim it may be said, “Thou art come to thekingdom for such a time as this” (Esth4:11). From the influence of Calvin cameforth a complete theological system, nu-merous church denominations, Christiannations, missionary organizations, andgreat educational institutions.

The influence of Calvinism has issuedforth like a river. As the Rhone River flowsfrom the glacier Rhone in the mightySwiss Alps into Lake Geneva, is purified,and flows clear blue to the Mediterra-nean, so we may speak of the river ofCalvinism flowing from Geneva to thewhole globe, more deep and pervading insome countries than others—but alwaysbringing the highest influences from theGod of truth.

However, many would dispute thisanalysis of Calvin’s influence. His oppo-nents and detractors are legion from bothsecular and religious quarters, from past

22


and contemporary sources. What wassaid of Jesus, “He was despised and re-jected of men” (Isa 53:3), may also, in alesser way, be said of John Calvin. Divi-sions over Calvin’s teachings run thegamut from adoration to sanguinary ha-tred. His opponents mince no words inventing their literary spleens. Most ofthese antagonists are equally severe intheir judgments of his doctrine and hispersonal influence.

Among Calvin’s detractors are manyRoman Catholic writers. Roman Catholicleaders have hated him for joining theReformation of Geneva and aiding thecity’s total break from the dominion ofRome. Calvin succeeded in solidifying thereform effort in Geneva by giving thechurch a systematic doctrinal foundationand being the prime mover in establish-ing a Christian commonwealth based onScripture. Roman Catholic leaders re-sented vehemently Calvin’s establishinga community based on faith rather thanworks and struck back in every possiblemanner. Philip Schaff quoted one laterwriter, Dr. M. S. Spaulding, archbishop ofBaltimore from 1864 to 1872, who wroteof Calvin: “His reign in Geneva was trulya reign of terror. He combined the crueltyof Danton and Robespierre.... He was avery Nero!... He was a monster of impu-rity and iniquity.... He ended his life indespair, and died of a most shameful anddisgusting disease.”2 Such references are,without a doubt, beyond the pale of real-ity and truth. Furthermore, they ring ahollow sound coming from a clergymanof an organization that used the Inquisi-tion to further its own cause.

Another formidable opponent of JohnCalvin was a group known as the Liber-tines, who lived in Geneva. These were

men who originally sided with the earlyreform movement in the break from thehated Roman Catholic rulers of Genevabut reacted negatively to the rule of thegospel which the Protestant reformersimplemented under Calvin and otherchurchmen. These citizens threatened thevery existence of the reform effort andcaused Calvin and the Geneva commu-nity great difficulty. Indeed, many believedthat these Libertines would have givenGeneva over to the French if they couldhave defeated Calvin—and they almostdid. Schaff describes the Libertinemindset toward Calvin:

They hated him worse than the pope.They abhorred the very word “disci-pline.” They resorted to personal in-dignities and every device of intimi-dation; they nick-named him “Cain,”and gave his name to the dogs of thestreet; they insulted him on his wayto the lecture-room; they fired onenight fifty shots before hisbedchamber; they threatened him inthe pulpit; they approached the com-munion table to wrest the sacred ele-ments from his hands, but he refusedto profane the sacrament and over-awed them.3

Such was the severity of the hatredand opposition to Calvin. Clearly, Calvinbelieved this opposition was against thegospel, not him personally, and treated itin that way. Some will describe Calvin’streatment of the Libertines as extreme andunworthy of any Christian leader at anytime or place. However, the age of Calvinwas a time for establishing the most im-portant movement in church history sincethe first century. The direction of thewhole course of history was at stake inthese conflicts. The movement that saw


23

the resurrecting of the great doctrines ofGod’s grace was in its natal stage andrequired strong measures in its defense.The success of the gospel in the 16th cen-tury often required strong regulationsand, when possible, the use of fortifiedcities or the help of benevolent kings to

weather the mighty counterattacks ofSatan.

As Schaff notes: “After the final col-lapse of the Libertine party in 1556, thepeace was not seriously disturbed, andCalvin’s work progressed without inter-ruption. The authorities of the State wereas zealous for the honor of the Churchand the glory of Christ as the ministers ofthe gospel.”4 This peace freed Calvin andother churchmen to concentrate on thereform efforts until his death in 1564. Thevictory of Calvin over such internal en-emies would mean untold value for thecause of Christ through subsequentages.

So much did the work of the Lord per-meate and dominate the city-state ofGeneva that John Knox called it “the mostperfect school of Christ that ever was inthe earth since the days of the Apostles.”5

Regardless of the success of the reformedmovement in the Protestant world, cer-tain modern writers have joined in theattacks on John Calvin both against theman, the ad hominem fallacy, and espe-cially against the doctrines he espoused.Regarding his life, they often simply re-gurgitate the old accusations of detrac-tors of the past.

What is more serious are the attackson the doctrines which Calvin taught.One such opponent is Dave Hunt, whoassails Calvinism in a recent book titledWhat Love Is This? Tim LaHaye actuallydeclared that this “may well be the mostimportant book written in the 21st cen-tury”—an exaggerated claim for anybook, let alone this one. Hunt declares,“There is a great deal contained inCalvin’s writings which every true be-liever must admit was at the least, seri-ous error and in some cases outright her-esy.”6 Charging a man with heresy is avery serious matter. Hunt does this withblatant effrontery. The record of Calvin’steaching is otherwise. No doubt, millionsof true believers would not agree thatCalvin taught serious error, let alone thathe taught heresy.

Hunt levels his main attack againstthe so-called Five Points of Calvinism. Hetakes each point and attempts to showhow unscriptural it is. He gives specialattention to the doctrine of predestina-tion. Hunt states, “We will examine thosescriptures and in the process we will seethat in the Bible predestination/electionis never unto salvation.”7 Hunt is clearly

Divisions over Calvin’steachings run the gamutfrom adoration to sangui-

nary hatred. His oppo-nents mince no words in

venting their literaryspleens. Most of theseantagonists are equally

severe in their judgmentsof his doctrine and his

personal influence.

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in error in making this claim. Many textsof the Bible lucidly teach that election isunto salvation. One such is Eph 1:5: “Hav-ing predestinated us unto the adoptionof sons by Jesus Christ to himself, ac-cording to the good pleasure of his will.”Surely being adopted by God as a sonrelates to salvation! Doubtless, withoutfear of justifiable contradiction, we maystate that the doctrines of Calvin are basedsolidly on Holy Scripture.

A believer may observe with perfectconfidence that what Paul taught, espe-cially in Romans and Galatians, is whatCalvin taught, no more no less. When oneargues against the doctrine of predesti-nation, he is arguing not against JohnCalvin but against what the Apostle Paulclearly taught in such passages as Ro-mans 9.

Basic to Calvin’s doctrine is its strongemphasis on the absolute sovereignty ofGod in every aspect of man’s relationswith him. From this foundational truthflows the doctrine of predestination.Scripture is clear on this when Paul de-clares that the believer has been “predes-tinated according to the purpose of himwho worketh all things after the counselof his own will” (Eph 1:11). This doctrinehas been restated through history in themajor creeds of the Reformed faith, a partof the Calvin legacy, including the Heidel-berg Catechism, the Canons of the Synodof Dort, and the Westminster Confessionof Faith; and it has blessed the hearts ofmillions of believers with full assuranceof their salvation and a deep gratitudefor God’s unmerited favor.

As a “tree is known by its fruit” (Matt12:33) so a doctrine or a movement maybe known by its effects or its results. Theinfluences of Calvinism are a testimony

to the truthfulness of the doctrinal teach-ings and constitute a part of the defenseof John Calvin. The doctrinal river thatcontinues to flow out of Geneva has beenpositive in many ways.

Consider the Calvinist influence inChristian missions. Out of the Calvinistcenters of activity and influence cameforth the greatest missionary movementof church history since the first century:the 19th century worldwide effort to reachthe masses with the gospel. The move-ment was initiated by William Carey, aconfirmed Calvinist in doctrine, who wentto India and motivated untold numbersof missionaries who became a part of thisamazing outreach. Carey entitled his mis-sion agency: “The Particular [Calvinis-tic] Baptist Society for Propagating theGospel among the Heathen.”8 In choos-ing this title for his agency, Carey wasdemonstrating the harmony that existsbetween the biblical points of Calvinisticdoctrine and the evangelistic effort to“preach the gospel to every creature”(Mark 16:15).

Indeed, John Calvin was a man witha missionary mind and heart. He was inno wise indifferent to the Great Commis-sion as some have charged. Althoughmany beleaguered Christians fled toGeneva for refuge from Roman Catholic

The missionary influenceof John Calvin was the

seed of an outreach thatcontinues until the

present day.


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persecution, out of Geneva poured forthnumerous missionaries to the countriesof Europe, including Italy and especiallyCalvin’s own France. During a period ofintense evangelizing in Calvin’s nativeland great numbers of converts embracedCalvinism, including many of the aristoc-racy. New evangelical churches werecropping up throughout France, and theelect were being brought to faith in Christin great numbers.9 An effort was madeeven to send preachers to Brazil to spreadthe gospel. The claim that Calvinismmeans death to evangelism and missionscannot be sustained by the record.

John Calvin’s own life was filled withsoul winning. In the 16th century mostpeople were convinced that God existsand the Bible is God’s Word, yet they didnot understand the true meaning of Scrip-ture. During this time, much evangelismwas accomplished by debating whatScripture actually taught. Who will denythat Luther’s debate with John Eck atLeipzig led to the salvation of souls?

John Calvin engaged in similar de-bates. One such was held in the Swisscity of Lausanne in 1536. William Farel,leader of the Genevan reform in its earlydays, opened the debate with a challengeto the Roman Catholic representatives:“Let Holy Scriptures alone be the judge.If the truth is on your side, step for-ward!”10 For three days Farel vainly at-tempted to get Calvin to speak. Calvinreplied, “Why should I interfere?”11 Onthe fourth day, surprisingly, Calvin roseand spoke. Though by nature of a retir-ing temperament, he could remain silentno longer. He gave a forceful disserta-tion on the spiritual nature of the Lord’sSupper in contrast to the Catholic Mass.After a time of silence, when the perspir-

ing Calvin sat down, a Franciscan friarby the name of Jean Tandy, moved by thetruth from Calvin’s lips, rose and declared:

It seems to me that the sin againstthe Spirit which the Scriptures speakof is the stubbornness which rebelsagainst manifest truth. In accor-dance with that which I have heard, Iconfess to be guilty, because of ig-norance I have lived in error and Ihave spread wrong teaching. I askGod’s pardon for everything I havesaid and done against His honor; andask the pardon of all of you peoplefor the offense which I gave with mypreaching up until now. I defrockmyself henceforth to follow Christand His pure doctrine alone.”12

God’s Holy Spirit used the disputa-tion at Lausanne to turn many hearts tothe rediscovered gospel of Christ. In time,two hundred priests of Rome joined theReformation in the Canton of the Vaud.Among these were some of the strongestdefenders of Rome who crossed over tothe evangelical side.13 The missionaryinfluence of John Calvin was the seed ofan outreach that continues until thepresent day.

Calvin’s positive influences extendedbeyond the more spiritual and ecclesias-tical into other significant realms, namely,government, economics, and education.Calvin’s influence on government wasnothing less than revolutionary. Hetaught a hitherto unheard of idea, basedon Scripture, that lower magistrates may,in some cases, lead a revolt against anentrenched king who denies basic liber-ties to his subjects. Calvin explained theconcept in Institutes of Christian Reli-gion:

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The former class of deliverers [lowermagistrates or princes] being broughtforward by the lawful call of God toperform such deeds, when they tookup arms against kings, did not all vio-late that majesty with which kings areinvested by divine appointment, butarmed from heaven, they, by a greaterpower, curbed a less.... So far am I fromforbidding these officially to checkthe undue license of kings.14

By reason of this principle, Calvin’sinfluence on nations extended into thefuture far beyond his own times. As Geor-gia Harkness claimed, “Calvinism gaverise to the spirit of independence, andfomented revolutions.”15 Calvin’s influ-ence, through this principle, was a pri-mary factor in the break for liberty whichtook place in America in 1775. Althoughmost Anglicans remained faithful to KingGeorge, Calvinistic colonists no longerfeared that they would be sinning againstGod to seek independence from the king.As George Bancroft stated, “The firstpublic voice in America for dissolving allconnections with Great Britain, came . . .from the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians.”16

The river of Calvinism is also foundin the worlds of economics and business.Credit capitalism, which spawned the in-dustrial revolution, came about in partfrom the application of economic teach-ings of John Calvin and his followers. R.H. Tawney writes: “In doing so they [Cal-vinists] naturally started from a frank rec-ognition of the necessity of capital, creditand banking, large-scale commerce andfinance, and the other practical facts ofbusiness life.”17

In early America, Scotch-Irish Pres-byterian entrepreneurs led the way inbusiness and investment enterprises.

They were armed with Calvin’s teachingthat it is not contrary to God’s Word tomake a profit in business. Businessmenlike John Wanamaker, William Dodge,Cyrus McCormick, and William HenryBelk, to name a few, were Calvinistic Chris-tians who profited from the biblical eco-nomic principles of John Calvin. Calvinwas not promoting greed but a Christianuse of wealth. Knowing their accountabil-ity to God, these men and others like themcommonly used their profits to further thekingdom of Christ. The great prosperityof America had a Calvinistic stamp at itsbeginning.

In the realm of education Calvin’sinfluence has not been minimal. In theUnited States especially, men, moved andenergized by Calvinistic doctrine, at-tempted to spread the truth of the gospelby establishing colleges and lowerschools. The colleges of Princeton,Harvard, Yale, Bowdoin, Miami of Ohio,Williams, Amherst, and the University ofDelaware are only some of the institutionsfounded by the Calvinists of America.

Calvinistic educators also made wideuse of the printed page. America’s chil-dren were given a sound Christian Cal-vinistic foundation when learning to readby using John Cotton’s New EnglandPrimer, which included the biblical truth,“In Adam’s Fall we sinned all.”

Moreover, Noah Webster’s The BlueBack Speller was used by thousands ofschool children. Webster’s original dic-tionary, published in 1828, was producedwith a view to advancing and preservingChristianity in America by the proper defi-nitions of words and was on the desks ofthousands of school children. Along withhis theological definitions Webster de-fined America as a republic and certainly


27

not a democracy. Webster despised theterm democracy as a description ofAmerica’s new government.

Calvinism was a prominent influencein Webster’s life, as it was in that of W.Holmes McGuffey, the Presbyterian edu-cator and author of the renowned Eclec-tic Readers. Early editions of the Eclec-tic Reader spread Bible truth and theCalvinist theistic worldview throughoutthe American colonies. In the introduc-tion to the Fourth Reader, McGuffeystated, “In a Christian country, that manis to be pitied, who . . . can honestly ob-ject to imbuing the minds of youth withthe language and spirit of the Word ofGod.”18

John Calvin’s influences have flowedfar and wide, blessing men and nationswherever they have gone. The magnitudeof what Calvin accomplished through hislife, preaching, and writings speaks to hiswillingness to be used by God in an ex-traordinary way. Calvin’s influences, asan early doctrinal reformer and mission-ary statesman, stretch far beyond his owntime and place. His Institutes of the Chris-tian Religion and Bible commentaries arestudied today by countless individualsand in colleges, seminaries, churches,and Sunday schools. Indeed, the churchof Christ has been enriched by the im-pact of Calvin’s life and letters for nearly450 years. It may be certainly said of him,as it was of the patriarch Abel, “He beingdead yet speaketh” (Heb 11:4).

1 Edward T. Oliver is an adjunctinstructor in Hebrew and theology forWestern Reformed Seminary. Hecurrently resides in Clearwater, Florida.

2 Philip Schaff, History of the ChristianChurch (1910; reprinted Grand Rapids: Wm. B.Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1958),8:520.3 Ibid., 8:496.4 Ibid., 8:510.5 Ibid., 8:518.6 Dave Hunt, What Love Is This?:Calvinism’s Misrepresentation of God(Sisters, Ore.: Loyal, 2002), 36.7 Ibid., 211.8 G. Smith, Short History of ChristianMissions (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark,n.d.), 162.9 A. E. McGrath, A Life of John Calvin (7th ed.; Malden, Mass.: Blackwell,2000), 189.10 E. Stickelberger, Calvin: A Life, transl.by D. G. Gelzer (2nd ed.; Richmond, Vir.:John Knox Press, 1961), 51.11 Ibid.12 Ibid., 53.13 Ibid.14 Institutes, 4:20:30-31.15 G. Harkness, John Calvin: The Manand His Ethics (New York: Holt, 1931),86.16 M. A. Beliles and S. K. McDowell,America’s Providential History (Charlottesville, Vir.: ProvidenceFoundation, 1996), 141.17 R. H. Tawney, Religion and the Riseof Capitalism (New York: MentorBooks, 1960), 93.18 J. H. Westerhoff III, McGuffey and HisReaders (Milford, Mich.: Mott Media,1978), 61.

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IMPACTCALVIN AND MISSIONS

Keith Coleman1

The year 2009 marks the 500th anni-versary of the birth of the great ReformerJohn Calvin. This is the same man whoseideas of representative government, es-tablishing the rights and liberties of citi-zens, and the Christian work ethic led tothe Industrial and Scientific Revolutions,developing the most productive and pros-perous societies in history. Through hiswritings and teachings, John Calvin domi-nated European and American history forcenturies. Some of the greatest philoso-phers, writers, Reformers, and Christianleaders in history have described them-selves as Calvinists. Some of JohnCalvin’s influential disciples include JohnKnox, Oliver Cromwell, John Owen, JohnMilton, Richard Baxter, JonathanEdwards, David Brainerd, GeorgeWhitefield, William Carey, WilliamWilberforce, Sir Isaac Newton, CharlesSpurgeon, David Livingstone, the Cov-enanters in Scotland, the Huguenots ofFrance, and the Pilgrim founders ofAmerica.

On the other hand, over the centuriesthere has been no lack of criticism of JohnCalvin and the theological system calledCalvinism. There is also criticism in thearea of missions and the fulfillment of theGreat Commission, as we understand ittoday. It would seem that some find thisas a shortcoming not only of John Calvin,but also of the entire Reformation period:

Neither the Reformation in the six-teenth, nor Puritanism in the seven-teenth century, was possessed of any

foreign missionary zeal … Luther andZwingli, Calvin and Melancthon,Knox and Cranmer, Latimer and Rid-ley, were too absorbed by the prob-lems at their door, to see far afield.…A study of the lives of Milton andBunyan, of Baxter and Fox, ofHampden and Marvell will reveal nourge to foreign missionary effort.2

The Lord’s command to go and makedisciples of all nations was for a longtime understood by theologians tohave been given only to the apostlesand fulfilled by them. It was thoughtthat the nations which had neglectedor rejected the opportunity then givencould be left to their well-deservedfate. A few among the Protestants didnot so understand the Lord’s com-mand.3

It is true that the missionary spiritamong many groups during the Reforma-tion period was feeble at best. The ob-stacles to a legitimate world evangeliza-tion were formidable.4 Yet one notableexception was the missionary enterpriseof Huguenot Nicolas Durand deVillegagnon, in the year 1555. Sailing withtwo ships to Brazil and landing on an is-land off of today’s Rio de Janeiro, heerected a settlement with the intent toestablish a haven for the religiously per-secuted in France and Spain, and to “con-stitute a Church in that country reformedaccording to the word of God.” 5 Within ashort time Villegagnon appealed to Calvinfor more French settlers. Calvin ap-pointed to this newly formed expeditiontwo ministers, Richer and Chartier, alongwith twelve French exiles and others. By


29

November 1556 three ships, including theGenevans, had sailed for Brazil. Landingin early 1557, Villegagnon had by that timeestablished an order of worship, and hadmade serious plans to advance the gos-pel to the mainland inhabitants. Yet in themonths following Villegagnon becamedisenchanted with Calvinism and turnedagainst the Genevans. Tragically, thecolony basically was finished long be-fore the arrival of the Portuguese in 1560.

An important footnote to this missionis that, although John Calvin was indeedinterested in this overseas missionaryenterprise, as witnessed by his corre-spondence and the appointment of min-isters, there were a number of sixteenthcentury realities that ultimately limited itsoverall success. Blame for the tragic fail-ure of the Brazil colony could not be placedat his feet. Dr. Joel Beeke gives three le-gitimate reasons to view Calvin’s mission-ary interests in a much more favorablelight:

1. Time constraints: the need tobuild “truth” in the infant Ref-ormation church, and thus builda foundation upon which themission church can be built.

2. Work at home: the establishmentof the church at home first, infulfillment of the Great Commis-sion.

3. Government restrictions: mostEuropean governments beingcontrolled by the Roman Catho-lic Church.6

If direct intervention in “overseas for-eign missions” was not deemed plausibleor successful, the amazing work Calvindid in ministering to the refugees whowere fleeing persecution from the Catho-

lic Church might be seen as a brilliantmissionary move.

Since Geneva was French-speaking,the vast majority of refugees camefrom France. As they sat underCalvin’s teaching in the Cathedral ofSt. Pierre, the French refugees’ heartsstirred for their homeland. Many ofthem felt compelled to return to Francewith the Protestant gospel.

Calvin, however, did not want to senduneducated missionaries back to thedangers of Catholic France. He be-lieved that a good missionary had tobe a good theologian first. And so heinspired and educated them. Hetrained them theologically, tested theirpreaching ability, and carefully scru-tinized their moral character. Calvinand the Genevan Consistory sentproperly trained missionaries back toFrance to share the Gospel.

Calvin did not just educate them andsend men back to France. These mis-sionaries did not just become photo-graphic memories on Calvin’s refrig-erator door. On the contrary, Calvinremained intimately involved in allthat they were doing.

The Genevan archives hold hundredsof letters containing Calvin’s pasto-ral and practical advice on establish-ing underground churches. He didnot just send missionaries; he in-vested himself in long-term relation-ships with them.

Concrete information exists from theyear 1555 onwards. The data indicatethat by 1555, there were five under-ground Protestant churches in France.By 1559, the number of these Protes-tant churches jumped to more than

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one hundred. And scholars estimatethat by 1562 there were more than2,150 churches established in Francewith approximately three million Prot-estant souls in attendance.

This can only be described as an ex-plosion of missionary activity, deto-nated in large part by the GenevanConsistory and other Swiss Protes-tant cities. Far from being disinter-ested in missions, history shows thatCalvin was enraptured by it.7

So even as Geneva had become a centerfor refugees and, in truth, a missionaryhub, Calvinism and the gospel spreadthroughout Europe. In France, for ex-ample, the Reformed church grew from100 in 1555 to 2150 by 1562. “From 1555to 1562 we know for sure that 88 preach-ers were sent from Geneva into France.Of these, nine laid down their lives asmartyrs. There may have been more than88.” 8

From France to England, Scotland,Poland, Hungary, and the Netherlands,evangelism reached the hearts of themasses, and the Reformed church grewas a direct result of the ministry of JohnCalvin and other Reformed leaders. John

Calvin never presented a systematic the-ology of missions in his writings. How-ever, it has been shown not only that acoherent theology of missions can be re-constructed from his writings, but thatCalvin considered Geneva to be a “mis-sionary center” for the evangelization ofFrance, the rest of Europe, and even theNew World. Perhaps the reason why nosystematic theology of missions can befound in his writings is because missionswas central to his ministry in Geneva.Missions was not a “section” of his sys-tematic theology, it was central to whathe was trying to accomplish in his minis-try.9

In support of the above, possibly thestrongest evidence of Calvin’s heart formissions, which is really evangelism, canbe found in his own words. Sermons,commentaries, his Institutes, and personalcorrespondence provide an unhinderedglimpse to his Scriptural position. Take,for example, his commentary on Heb 10:25

Having said, “Not forsaking the as-sembling together,” he adds, But ex-horting one another; by which heintimates that all the godly ought byall means possible to exert them-selves in the work of gathering to-gether the Church on every side; forwe are called by the Lord on this con-dition, that every one should after-wards strive to lead others to thetruth, to restore the wandering to theright way, to extend a helping handto the fallen, to win over those whoare without. But if we ought to be-stow so much labor on those whoare yet aliens to the flock of Christ,how much more diligence is requiredin exhorting the brethren whom Godhas already joined to us?10

The amazing work Calvindid in ministering to the

refugees who were fleeingpersecution from the

Catholic Church might beseen as a brilliantmissionary move.


31

Did Calvin here not indicate that the godlyare to use all means to win over thosewho are aliens to the flock? No geographi-cal boundaries are presented, but simplyto be in obedience to the Lord’s com-mands—this was Calvin’s directive.

In his sermon on 2 Tim 1:8-9, hewrites:

If the gospel be not preached, JesusChrist is, as it were, buried. Therefore,let us stand as witnesses, and do Himthis honor, when we see all the worldso far out of the way; and remainsteadfast in this wholesome doc-trine… Let us here observe that St.Paul condemns our unthankfulness,if we be so unfaithful to God, as notto bear witness of His gospel; seeingHe hath called us to it.

Is he not saying that the lack of evange-lism was as if Christ was still in the tomband an indication of ourunthankfulness?11

A third example comes from his sermonon 1 Tim 2:3-5. Calvin writes:

Thus we may see what St. Paul’s mean-ing is when he saith, God will haveHis grace made known to all theworld, and His gospel preached to allcreatures. Therefore, we must en-deavor, as much as possible, to per-suade those who are strangers to thefaith, and seem to be utterly deprivedof the goodness of God, to accept ofsalvation. Jesus Christ is not only aSavior of few, but He offereth Himselfto all. As often as the gospel ispreached to us, we ought to considerthat God calleth us to Him: and if weattend to this call, it shall not be invain, neither shall it be lost labor.Therefore, we may be so much the

more assured that God taketh andholdeth us for His children, if we en-deavor to bring those to Him who areafar off. Let us comfort ourselves, andtake courage in this our calling: al-though there be at this day a greatforlornness, though we seem to bemiserable creatures, utterly cast awayand condemned, yet we must labor asmuch as possible to draw those tosalvation who seem to be afar off. Andabove all things, let us pray to Godfor them, waiting patiently till it pleaseHim to show His good will towardthem, as He hath shown it to us.12

Here the preacher recognized that wemust labor, as much as possible, to bringthe lost to salvation.

One final sample is in a sermon onActs 1:7, where we read,

Now we know that God prizes noth-ing above his honour, which liesmainly in men’s knowing him andpoor souls’ being brought to salva-tion. So let us not be surprised if ourLord wants his gospel to be pro-claimed with such diligence that noth-ing can hinder its course. For the onlyway men can come to salvation isthrough instruction in what the Bibleteaches. Now since this is God’s will,let us follow it.13

The necessity of the strong and confi-dent proclamation of the gospel is clearin Calvin’s plea.

With these very few examples we havea reliable indication as to the evangelis-tic, missionary heart of John Calvin. Com-bined with the above mentioned mission-ary endeavors, we may be confident thatthe work of missions during the Refor-

32


mation, albeit in an infant stage, was genu-ine.

The final stage which legitimizesCalvin’s involvement in missions comeswith the history that followed his minis-try. A study of missions history will re-veal many familiar names, all Calvinists.Beginning with pioneer Baptist mission-ary William Carey (1761-1834), father ofthe modern missions movement, we cancontinue to John Patton (New Hebrides),Henry Martyn (India and Persia),Jonathan Goforth (China), and AdonirumJudson (Burma). Congregationalist DavidBrainard (1718-1747), missionary to theAmerican Indians, found funding fromthe Presbyterians in Scotland. We needalso to mention Calvinists such asJonathan Edwards, George Whitefield,and countless others. By the end of the19th century it could be said that one-quar-ter of all Protestant missionaries in theworld were Presbyterian. Such was, andcontinues to be, the influence of JohnCalvin on that great century of foreignmissions.

One final quote from B. B. Warfield’sarticle on Calvinism:

Calvinism has been proved an emi-nent incentive to all missionary en-terprises, domestic and foreign. It isof course acknowledged that severalChristian bodies not characterized bywhat are generally regarded as thepeculiarities of Calvinism have beenin the highest degree distinguishedby missionary zeal and efficiency.…The charter of the Society of the Gos-pel in Foreign Parts was granted bythe Calvinistic Prince, William III. It isto the Calvinistic Baptists that theimpulse to modern Protestant mis-sions is to be traced, and the Calvin-

istic churches are today behind nonein their zeal for a success in mission-ary work.14

With those things in mind, we can confi-dently say that John Calvin’s contribu-tion to the work of missions has beenunfolding before the world for nearly fivehundred years. His doctrines of sin andgrace gave clarity and meaning in an agewhere such was needed. It was and is theHoly Spirit who applies the truths of theScriptures in the hearts of the elect tobring them to salvation, and then to ser-vice. The ministries of evangelism andmissions are simply the natural progres-sion of that work. We thank our Lord forthe life and ministry of John Calvin, andfor the countless numbers who followhim, as he has followed the Savior.

1 Keith Coleman is a minister in theBible Presbyterian Church and is theexecutive director of the IndependentBoard for Presbyterian Foreign Mis-sions.2 Alexander Rattray Hay, The NewTestament Order for Church andMissionary, 257.3 John Aberly, An Outline of Missions,37.4 See the summary of this period inMorris McDonald, A Brief Survey ofMissions, 32.5 Charles Washington Baird, History ofthe Huguenot Emigration to America,36.6 Joel R. Beeke, www.hnrc.org/files/CalvinTeacherOfEvangelism.pdf, 77-78.7 Frank A. James III, http://theresurgence.com/files/pdf/frank_james_2001_calvin_the_evangelist.pdf,1-2.


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CALVIN AND WORSHIPJohn T. Dyck1

INTRODUCTION

Many people, even many Christians,are surprised to hear John Calvin referredto as a man of warmth and devotion. Thecaricature of him as a hard and stern au-thoritarian appears to be quite common,but is unknown to those who are familiarwith his work. While he stood firmly andwithout compromise on the doctrinesfound in God’s Word, he found in thosedoctrines the character and true knowl-edge of the God that he loved and adored.The more he learned about God from hisWord, the more he loved him. This heart-felt devotion is evident in all his writings,from the Institutes to his commentaries.

B. B. Warfield referred to John Calvinas “pre-eminently the theologian of theHoly Spirit”2 because of Calvin’s empha-sis on the work of the Spirit as founda-tional to saving faith in believers. As acorollary to that statement we might alsorefer to Calvin as the “Theologian ofWorship,” even though he did not writevery much specifically about worship. Heunderstood that faith in Christ began witha change of heart which necessarily ledto worship and devotion.

Calvin believed very strongly that itis not nearly enough to simply acknowl-edge that God exists and to perform cer-emonies for him. Very early in the Insti-tutes of the Christian Religion, Calvinsays:

Moreover, although our mind cannotapprehend God without renderingsome honor to him, it will not sufficesimply to hold that there is One whomall ought to honor and adore, unless

8 Errol Hulse, http://www.reformed-theology.org/html/issue04/calvin.htm.9 See Scott J. Simmons, John Calvinand Missions: A Historical Study.10 http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/ipb-e/epl-01/calhb-13.txt.11 http://www.the-highway.com/Call_to_Witness.html.12 http://www.the-highway.com/Salvation_of_All.html.13 http://www.corkfpc.com/soulwinnercalvinsaid.html; Calvin’sSermons on Acts 1-7, BOT, 325.14 B. B. Warfield, “Calvinism,” SelectedShorter Writings, ed. by John E. Meeter(reprinted; Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyte-rian and Reformed Publishing Company,1973), 2:447.

A study of missionshistory will reveal many

familiar names, all Calvin-ists. Beginning with

pioneer Baptist mission-ary William Carey (1761-

1834), father of themodern missions move-ment, we can continue to

John Patton (NewHebrides), Henry Martyn

(India and Persia),Jonathan Goforth (China),

and Adonirum Judson(Burma). Congregational-ist David Brainard (1718-1747), missionary to theAmerican Indians foundfunding from the Presby-

terians in Scotland.

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we are also persuaded that he is thefountain of every good, and that wemust seek nothing elsewhere than inhim.3

Piety is essential to worship, and he goeson to define piety:

I call “piety” that reverence joinedwith love of God which the knowl-edge of his benefits induces. For un-til men recognize that they owe ev-erything to God, that they are nour-ished by his fatherly care, that he isthe Author of their every good, thatthey should seek nothing beyondhim—they will never yield him willingservice. Nay, unless they establishtheir complete happiness in him, theywill never give themselves truly andsincerely to him.4

This last statement is reflected in themotto that is often identified with him:My heart I give thee, Lord, promptly andsincerely.

Reverent piety leads to worship:“Here indeed is pure and real religion:faith so joined with an earnest fear of Godthat this fear also embraces willing rever-ence, and carries with it such legitimateworship as is prescribed in the law.”5

REGULATIVE PRINCIPLE

Prescribed in the law? Doesn’t thatmake worship legalistic and formalistic?Although that danger is always presentin the worship of true believers, there arereally only two alternatives to worship:(1) man tells God how he would like toworship him, or (2) God tells man how hewants to be worshiped. Just as God mustreveal to man how he must be saved, healso clearly tells man how to worship him.Calvin says:

Moreover, the rule which distin-guishes between pure and vitiatedworship is of universal application, inorder that we may not adopt any de-vice which seems fit to ourselves, butlook to the injunction of Him whoalone is entitled to prescribe. There-fore, if we would have Him to approveour worship, this rule, which he ev-erywhere enforces with the utmoststrictness, must be carefully ob-served.”6

Commonly referred to as the RegulativePrinciple of Worship, this doctrine arisesout of instruction from the second com-mandment, and states that God must beworshiped in the way that he prescribes;man has no liberty to add his own ideasor elements into the worship of the trueand living God.

Although this principle may appearexcessively strict to those who areused to modern day “worship” with itsemphasis on “relevance” and the use of

Commonly referred to asthe Regulative Principleof Worship, this doctrinearises out of instructionfrom the second com-

mandment, and states thatGod must be worshiped in

the way that he pre-scribes; man has no

liberty to add his ownideas or elements into the

worship of the true andliving God.


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“worship teams,” it is essential to under-stand Calvin’s earnest desire for the rev-erence of God’s holiness and majesty.True worship does not result from mind-lessly (and often endlessly) repeatingwords about God’s majesty, but it ispresent when we honour and love whatwe know about the majesty of that God.

Calvin gives two reasons for main-taining the regulative principle of wor-ship: the sovereignty of God and the sin-fulness of man:

First, it tends greatly to establish Hisauthority that we do not follow ourown pleasures but depend entirely onhis sovereignty; and, secondly, suchis our folly, that when we are left atliberty, all we are able to do is to goastray. And then when once we haveturned aside from the right path, thereis no end to our wanderings, until weget buried under a multitude of su-perstitions.7

Because our fallen human nature is quickto define religion merely as an outwardobservance, he goes on to say:

And we ought to note this fact evenmore diligently: all men have a vaguegeneral veneration for God, but veryfew really reverence him; and wher-ever there is great ostentation in cer-emonies, sincerity of heart is rare in-deed.8

This is one of the great concerns of Calvinand must continue to be a concern to-day: the mere performing or acting out ofworship is not acceptable; rather, the Lordseeks heartfelt biblical worship in Spiritand in truth. This is what the Lord Jesusspecifically said when he taught thewoman at the well that true worshipers“shall worship the Father in spirit and in

truth: for the Father seeketh such to wor-ship him” (John 4:23). Jesus also declared:“But in vain they do worship me, teach-ing for doctrines the commandments ofmen” (Matt 15:9).

This view of worship was just as un-popular in Calvin’s day as it is today. Anemphasis on what God requires of man isa recurring theme in Calvin’s writings asa corollary to the doctrine of man’s totaldepravity. To declare that man must sub-mit to God’s requirements brings strongopposition. It certainly brought Calvininto sharp conflict, not only with theCatholics, but also with the Lutherans andothers who held to the normative prin-ciple of worship; they taught that what-ever is not forbidden in the Scriptures ispermitted in worship, as long as it pro-motes the peace and unity of the Church.This normative approach to worship con-tinues to prevail to this day, its propo-nents ignorant of the irony that, in spiteof an emphasis on the Holy Spirit and“felt needs” as well as the frequent useof biblical words, they are still lookinginwardly, to man, for the basis of theirworship. Worship that begins with manwill end with man; it will always have afoundation of sand. In a sense, Calvinalso looked inward—but when he did so,he saw a wicked, rebellious heart thatneeded to be changed. When that heartwas regenerated by the Holy Spirit, itlooked heavenward and desired to pleasea holy and gracious God. This certainlysupports Warfield’s statement that JohnCalvin was “pre-eminently the theologianof the Holy Spirit.”

WORSHIP DEFINED

For Calvin, worship begins with asound understanding of who God is. Thechief foundation of worship, he writes,

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“is to acknowledge Him to be, as He is,the only source of all virtue, justice, holi-ness, wisdom, truth, power, goodness,mercy, life, and salvation.”9 The more weknow about God, the more cause we haveto love and worship him. When we thusknow him to be self-existent and self-suf-ficient, we will “ascribe and render to Himthe glory of all that is good, to seek allthings in Him alone, and in every wanthave recourse to Him alone.”10 This, hesays, inevitably leads to prayer, praise,and thanksgiving as “attestations to theglory which we attribute to Him.”11 Thisfurther grows into “adoration, by whichwe manifest for him the reverence due tohis greatness and excellency.”12

After the heart is turned to God inknowledge and consequently tuned toworship, then, and only then, do we findplace for ceremonies, which are “subser-vient, as helps or instruments, in orderthat, in the performance of divine wor-ship, the body may be exercised at thesame time with the soul.”13 This exercis-ing of the soul results, says Calvin, in

“self-abasement, when, renouncing theworld and the flesh, we are transformedin the renewing of our mind, and livingno longer to ourselves, submit to be ruledand actuated by Him.”14 This self-abase-ment leads to gospel obedience and sub-mission to God’s will.

LITURGY

When Calvin tried to introduce reformsto worship, especially with respect tochurch discipline, he was banished fromGeneva in 1538 at the age of twenty-nineyears. He was subsequently invited topastor the church in Strasbourg. He ar-rived to find Martin Bucer had alreadybeen involved in the reformation of wor-ship for a few years and he soon becamea mentor to Calvin. Bucer made sharp dis-tinctions between the complex Mass(which had been adhered to for genera-tions with all its innovations), and thesimple worship service he found pre-scribed in the Scriptures.

In worship, if only the inclinations ofheart are followed, assuming the leadingof the Holy Spirit, the result will be con-fusion; but when the objective standardof God’s Word is used, all things are donedecently and in order. This led Calvin toprescribe a liturgy for worship whichbrought orderliness to the worship of anorderly God. At the same time, his dis-dain for ceremonies was powerful and itwould be the greatest insult to JohnCalvin to have a liturgy aimed at spiritualworship turned into ceremony. Liturgymust be merely a means to worship, andnot worship itself.

Not all the reformers were agreed con-cerning the details of how worship shouldbe organized. While Ulrich Zwingli hadbanned congregational singing in Swit-zerland, Bucer encouraged it by having

This normative approachto worship continues toprevail to this day, its

proponents ignorant ofthe irony that, in spite ofan emphasis on the HolySpirit and “felt needs” aswell as the frequent use of

biblical words, they arestill looking inwardly, to

man, for the basis of theirworship.


37

everyone sing Psalms and hymns. He alsosimplified the Lord’s Table from all thecomplexities of the Mass, and advocateda weekly observance of the sacrament.Calvin, as a student of Bucer, appears tobe quite influenced by the reforms he hadproposed, as he instituted many of theminto the worship service of the church hepastored. The liturgy used in Strasbourgwas very similar to the one that Calvinlater introduced in Geneva.

Calvin gave the following summary anddefence of his order of service:

We begin with confession of our sins,adding verses from the Law and theGospel [i.e. words of absolution],...and after we are assured that, as JesusChrist has righteousness and life inHimself, and that, as He lives for thesake of the Father, we are justified inHim and live in the new life throughthe same Jesus Christ, ... we continuewith psalms, hymns of praise, the read-ing of the Gospel, the confession ofour faith [i.e., the Apostles’ Creed],and the holy oblations and offerings.... And, ... quickened and stirred by

Calvin: Strasbourg, 1540Scripture Sentence: Psalm 124:8Confession of sinsScriptural words of pardonAbsolutionMetrical Decalogue sung with Kyrieeleison (Gr.) after each LawCollect for IlluminationLectionSermonLiturgy of the Upper RoomCollection of almsIntercessionsLord’s Prayer in long paraphrasePreparation of elements whileApostles’ Creed sungConsecration PrayerWords of InstitutionExhortation

FractionDeliveryCommunion, while psalm sung

Post-communion collectNunc dimittis in metre

Aaronic Blessing

Calvin: Geneva, 1542Scripture Sentence: Psalm 124:8Confession of sinsPrayer for pardon

Collect for IlluminationLectionSermonLiturgy of the Upper RoomCollection of almsIntercessionsLord’s Prayer in long paraphrasePreparation of elements whileApostles’ Creed sung

Words of InstitutionExhortationConsecration PrayerFractionDeliveryCommunion, while psalm orScriptures readPost-communion collect

Aaronic Blessing

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the reading and preaching of the Gos-pel and the confession of our faith, ...it follows that we must pray for thesalvation of all men, for the life ofChrist should be greatly enkindledwithin us. Now, the life of Christ con-sists in this, namely, to seek and tosave that which is lost; fittingly, then,we pray for all men. And, because wereceive Jesus Christ truly in this Sac-rament, ... we worship Him in spiritand in truth; and receive the Eucha-rist with great reverence, concludingthe whole mystery with praise andthanksgiving. This, therefore, is thewhole order and reason for its admin-istration in this manner; and it agreesalso with the administration in theancient Church of the Apostles, mar-tyrs, and holy Fathers.15

Calvin’s liturgy changed somewhatbetween the time he left Geneva forStrasbourg and the time he returned againto Geneva. The two are compared in tableform on the previous page.16

DIFFERENCES AND CONCESSIONS

When Calvin returned to Geneva thedifferences he previously had with theGenevan Council had not disappeared,although both sides were willing to worktogether and to come to an agreementregarding worship. We might infer thatthe Strasbourg liturgy more closely re-flects Calvin’s preferences.

While Calvin preferred weekly com-munion, he proposed a monthly obser-vance in Geneva. The Council objectedand decreed that it should be set forthquarterly. The items referring to the Lord’sSupper in the liturgy outlined abovewould be omitted for most of the Lord’sDay services.17

Another of the elements that wasquite controversial in Geneva was that ofAbsolution. The form he used began withreciting 1 Tim 1:15 (“This is a faithful say-ing, and worthy of all acceptation, thatChrist Jesus is come into the world tosave sinners”) then stating,

Let each make confession in hisheart with St. Paul in truth [‘that I amthe chief’ in some editions], and be-lieve in Christ. So in His Name do Ipronounce forgiveness unto you ofall your sins, and I declare you to beloosed of them in earth so that yemay be loosed of them also inheaven and in all eternity. Amen.18

He speaks of this practice in the Insti-tutes:

For when the whole church stands,as it were, before God’s judgmentseat, confesses itself guilty, and hasits sole refuge in God’s mercy, it isno common or light solace to havepresent there the ambassador ofChrist, armed with the mandate of rec-onciliation, by whom it hears pro-claimed its absolution [cf. 2 Cor5:20].19

Calvin had pronounced this absolutionclearly as part of the Strasbourg liturgy,but when he came to Geneva this prac-tice was met with hostility, the people“jumping up before the end of Confes-sion to forestall Absolution. Thus heyielded to their scruples.”20

Musically, John Calvin made exten-sive use of the Psalms in worship. Hemade his own metrical versifications of anumber of Psalms, but abandoned thatwork in favor of the translations of Clem-ent Marot. In addition to the Psalms, hisliturgy included a metrical version of the


39

Ten Commandments sung before theLord’s Supper, with the Kurie eleisonsung after each law. He also included thesinging of the Apostles’ Creed.

Although each of the elementsserved an important function in worship,the focus of the service was alwaysChrist and the preaching of the Word. Thisemphasis does not appear so explicitly inthe writings of Calvin as it does in hisown practice, and the practice of all theReformers in general.

One of the benefits that Calvin re-ceived in Geneva was the appointment ofa stenographer to record his sermons. AsCalvin worked his way slowly and sys-tematically through one book of the Bibleat a time, he produced “123 sermons onGenesis, 200 sermons on Deuteronomy,159 sermons on Job, 176 sermons on 1and 2 Corinthians, and 43 sermons onGalatians.”21 His preaching was alwaysclear so that it could be understood byeveryone. At the same time it contained

much more in the way of Scripture versesand allusions than of illustrations andanecdotes. Preaching was the way inwhich the doctrinal emphases of the daywere communicated to the Lord’s peopleso that they understood the gospel andwere encouraged to draw near to God. Ashe preached of the Trinitarian God of theBible, he expected his hearers to worshipthat God.

CONCLUSION

Are structure and liturgy impedimentsto worship, as is often asserted? That isnot the testimony of those who wor-shiped with Calvin:

Shall it be said that ... the trueCalvinian cultus was by nature coldand impoverished? Those who werepresent at the services have told usthat often they could not keep backthe tears of their emotion and joy.Singings and prayers, adoration andedification, confession and absolu-tion of sins, acts both formal and spon-taneous: all the essential elements ofworship were there. And, perhaps notless important, they were united in anorganism that was very simple, yetsupple and strong. Calvin is, in fact,of all the Reformers the one who moststeadfastly rejected the division ofworship into two parts.... TheCalvinian cultus is one.22

There are a multitude of benefits tothe study of Calvin’s works, one of themost important being his contribution tothe reformation of worship. May the Lordbless his Church in this present age witha renewed concern for how to worshiphim.

Calvin, as a student ofBucer, appears to be

quite influenced by thereforms he had proposed,as he instituted many ofthem into the worship

service of the church hepastored. The liturgy

used in Strasbourg wasvery similar to the onethat Calvin later intro-

duced in Geneva.

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Thoughts or Comments on this issue of the WRS Journal?

By all means feel free to submit letters to our editor! Letters should belimited to 300 words, and either typewritten or sent electronically. See ourcontact information on the inside front cover. Thank you!

1 John T. Dyck (WRS M.Div. 1990) ispastor of the Bible Presbyterian Churchin Edmonton, Alberta, and is StatedClerk of the BPC, General Synod.2 B. B. Warfield, Calvin as a Theolo-gian and Calvinism Today (Philadel-phia: Presbyterian Board of Education,1909). http://homepage.mac.com/shanerosenthal/reformationink/bbwcalvin1.htm.3 John Calvin, Institutes of the Chris-tian Religion (Philadelphia: TheWestminster Press, 1960), 1:2:1.4 Ibid.5 Ibid., 1:2:2.6 John Calvin, “The Necessity ofReforming the Church,” Selected Worksof John Calvin (Grand Rapids: Baker

Although each of theelements served animportant function in

worship, the focus of theservice was always Christand the preaching of the

Word. This emphasisdoes not appear so explic-

itly in the writings ofCalvin as it does in hisown practice, and the

practice of all the Reform-ers in general.

Book House, 1983), 128. This waswritten in 1544, after he had been inStrasbourg for a few years (1538-1541)and had returned to Geneva (1541).7 Ibid.8 Institutes, 1:2:2.9 “Necessity of Reforming the Church,”127.10 Ibid.11 Ibid.12 Ibid.13 Ibid.14 Ibid.15 William D. Maxwell, An Outline ofChristian Worship: Its Developmentand Forms (London: Oxford UniversityPress, 1936), 116.16 Ibid., 114. Collect is a short prayer;Lection is a Scripture reading; Fractionand Delivery are the breaking of thebread and distribution thereof, respec-tively.17 Bard Thompson, Liturgies of theWestern Church (Philadelphia: FortressPress, 1980), 190.18 Maxwell, Outline, 103.19 Institutes, 3:4:14.20 Thompson, Liturgies, 191.21 Hughes Oliphant Old, Worship:Reformed according to Scripture (Louisville: Westminster John KnoxPress, 2002), 75.22 Emile Doumergue, Jean Calvin, 5:504;quoted in Maxwell, Outlines, 119.


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ON TOURA CALVIN PILGRIMAGE:

THE WORSHIP OF

DEAD MEN’S BONES?Douglas Bond1

History is filled with ironic contor-tions. Consider the bungling of Scottishmoderns placing a life-size bronze statueof John Knox in the ambulatory of St.Giles, Edinburgh—the very church inwhich Knox preached against idolatry. Orconsider John Calvin decrying simonywhen funding for his entire education hadcome from benefices his father had fi-nagled for his son.

Or consider thousands of Calvinistsdescending on Geneva July 10, 2009, tocommemorate the 500th birthday of theman who considered the medieval sacra-ment of pilgrimage to be one of the “faultscontravening the Reformation.” Is thisyet another instance of self-contradic-tory theological buffoonery, a quest formerit tallied by stamps in the passport?

Tempting as these conclusions are tocritics, I think not. As he lay dying, Calvininsisted that his body be buried in anunmarked grave. Some believe this wasCalvin trying to avoid being the object ofwhat he termed the “fictitious worship ofdead men’s bones.” I’m inclined, however,to think that his dying request is yet an-other myth-buster; he didn’t want hisbones enshrined because Calvin was sotaken with the glory of Christ that theveneration of John Calvin never occurredto him. And for such humble piety aloneCalvin would be worthy of our perennialattention.

SANCTIFICATION BY IMITATION

Theodore Beza, Calvin’s successor, inwhose arms Calvin died, wrote of him onthe final page of his account of Calvin’slife, “Having been a spectator of his con-duct for sixteen years… I can now de-clare that in him all men may see a mostbeautiful example of Christian character,an example which is as easy to slander asit is difficult to imitate.”

Seventeen times in the New Testa-ment we are told to imitate exceptionalmen as they seek to follow Christ. Calvinis a man worthy of imitation. There’s noidolatry in giving double honor to menwho serve faithfully, who employ theirconsiderable gifts in devoted service toChrist and his Kingdom. Hence, a tour incommemoration of the 500th birthday ofJohn Calvin is no superstitious medievalpilgrimage.

There’s no intrinsic conferring ofgrace to be had by going to Geneva or,for that matter, Jerusalem. If, however, onewants to find inspiration to live a moregodly, Christ-honoring life, to hone andemploy skills to be more useful in thecause of the gospel, or if one desires toexpand his appreciation of the sovereignworking of God in history, using vaca-tion dollars to follow Calvin around Eu-rope for the days surrounding his 500th

birthday could be time and money wellinvested.

For those cutting back on vacationspending, or who have already commit-ted those dollars for a trip to Hawaii, joinme in the next few paragraphs for animaginary tour of some of the most im-portant sights in the life of one of the

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most important Christians since St. Au-gustine.

CALVIN IN NOYON

With a squealing of rubber, your planetouches down at Charles de Gaulle Air-port. Bleary-eyed from the ten-hour flight,you pick up your rental car, check themap, and head north on the A1 motorway;if traffic is not too heavy, in fifty-sevenminutes you arrive in the town of Noyonwhere John Calvin was born July 10, 1509.Following the signs to the Cathédrale,you arrive before Calvin’s birthplace. Flat-tened by German artillery in World War I,and rebuilt according to original drawingsin 1927, it is now the Musée Jean Calvin.

Entering the half-timbered house islike stepping back to the days of the Ref-ormation. Amidst 16th century oil paint-ings, you see the 1534 Placard contre lamesse, a poster against transubstantia-tion. My two favorites of the collection,however, are the Olivetan Bible, trans-lated into French by Calvin’s cousin, witha forward written by Calvin, and a firstedition of Calvin’s incomparable Institutesof the Christian Religion.

From there you walk to Noyon’s im-posing cathedral of Notre Dame, rebuiltafter a great fire in 1131, later repaired af-ter bombing took its toll on the west tow-ers during World War I. You can’t helppausing to wonder at the medieval mag-nificence of the flying buttresses fanningout in three broad terraces on the eastend of the grand structure.

Calvin’s birthplace cathedral has longbeen a pilgrimage destination for the faith-ful who care to venerate the bones of St.Eloi, the 7th century goldsmith turnedbishop, a coveted medieval career path.It was here that Calvin on May 21, 1521,

received his prelatical haircut by BishopCharles Hangest. Along with his chic newtonsure, twelve-year-old Calvin was giventhe chaplaincy of Le Gesine and soon af-ter the priesthood of Pont L’Eveque, anearby village, his father’s birthplace.Both of these clerical appointments car-ried valuable benefices which would payfor Calvin’s considerable education in theyears ahead.

There is much more to see in the re-gion, including Gallo-Roman ruins, a re-naissance manuscript museum, and thenearby Armistice Museum where treatiesending both world wars were signed. Buton Calvin’s trail, Paris beckons.

CALVIN IN PARIS

When the Bubonic Plague sweptthrough Noyon in 1523, fourteen-year-old Calvin was bustled off to the Univer-sity of Paris, the renaissance “Metropo-lis of Letters.” Thanks to Napoleon, whowanted to rid the city of medieval housesand narrow streets, too easy for revolu-tionaries to barricade, much of Paris asCalvin knew it has been replaced by wideboulevards and broad promenades. Nev-ertheless, Calvin spent considerable timehere, and there are several important sitesto discover.

Check into a quaint hotel in the LatinQuarter then take the Metro to the Lou-vre, in Calvin’s day the royal palace ofFrancis I, monstrous persecutor of theReformation. Strolling east along the RiverSeine, you encounter St. GermainL’Auxerrois, royal chapel of Francis I.Bells from this church tower signaled theslaughter of French Calvinists, August24, 1572, the bloody St. Bartholomew’sDay Massacre. Walk down the Rue deAdmiral de Coligny, named for Huguenotleader and Reformation martyr, and then


43

promenade along the embankment of theSeine, recollecting its waters running redwith the blood and clogged with the bod-ies of Calvin’s spiritual offspring, includ-ing Coligny and thousands of Hugue-nots. Watch closely for the narrow streetcalled Rue Vallette in Calvin’s day, wherehe lived with his uncle Richard whilestudying at the College de la Marche.

Spend a few hours in the Louvre, oneof the most extensive collections of artand antiquity in the world; all the whilerecollect that within its walls lived FrancisI, to whom Calvin eloquently appealed inhis preface to the Institutes of the Chris-tian Religion, and that from the Louvrehe commissioned his royal spies to searchand destroy Calvin and the Reformers.Further consider that within these verywalls, Francis’s sister, Margaret of Valois,heard gospel preaching, wrote devotionalpoetry, and sang French Psalm versifica-tions by Clement Marot, later Calvin’spoet-in-residence in Geneva.

Leaving the Louvre, cross Pont Neufonto the Île de la Cité, and stroll severalblocks to the Gothic masterpiece, NotreDame Cathédrale. Built on the ruins of apagan Roman temple, this church hasplayed center stage throughout Frenchhistory. On its chancel, kings and emper-ors were coronated; later its Christiansymbols were ransacked by revolution-aries who dubbed it the Temple of Rea-son. Through the centuries pilgrims camein hordes to venerate its purported rel-ics, including Christ’s crown of thorns.

It is unimaginable that Calvin, de-voted as he was in his youth to “poperyand superstition,” did not enter its vastnave and marvel at its vaulted splendors;and he may have even trudged the 387steps up the north tower to gaze out over

the city. Before the grand edifice Calvinundoubtedly witnessed the burning of“heretics,” young followers of SolaScriptura taught by Jacques Lefevred’Etaples, professor at the university,preacher of sovereign grace, and earlytranslator of the French Bible from theVulgate.

Further down river, at what is todaycalled the Place de la Ville, Calvin, as un-derground pastor, witnessed the burningof one of his own parishioners, Pointent,who died giving glory to God. Across theriver at the Place Maubert, now a fash-ionable Left Bank market, rose the smokeof Calvin’s converts. In 1557, he wrote anencouraging letter to seven who wouldburn September 4th at Maubert.

Young Calvin quickly was promotedto the prestigious College de Montaigu,where Erasmus had studied and whereLoyola would follow him. Erasmusrecords that under the severity of themaster of the college several giftedyoung men became “blind, mad, or lep-ers” as a result of the bad food, tedioushours, and beatings. A plaque at nearbyCollege St. Barbe claims that Calvin stud-ied there; either way, in the halls of theUniversity of Paris Calvin distinguishedhimself and honed his intellectual skills,ones he would so ably use for the gloryof Christ in his future ministry.

There is a great deal more to experi-ence in Paris, the tombs of Voltaire andNapoleon, the Eiffel Tower, the Arch ofTriumph, crepes and concerts, museumsand more. Calvin was eventually forcedto flee the city because men like NoelBeda, doctor of the university, were de-termined to “banish from France this hate-ful doctrine of grace.”

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FUGITIVE AT LARGE

In 1528, Calvin’s father ordered himto leave Paris and take up the study oflaw at Orleans, and from there to Bourges,where there is a breath-taking Gothic ca-thedral. Here Calvin likely experienced his“sudden conversion.” Under the spiritualinfluence of his cousin Olivetan, and hisGreek professor Wolmar, the prime mo-tive of Calvin’s existence came to be, “zealto illustrate the glory of God.”

After the death of his father in 1533Calvin, now conscience-stricken atabuses like simony, forfeited the incomefrom his benefices and returned penni-less to Paris. As guest of a hospitableChristian merchant at the House of thePelican, on the Rue St. Martin, Calvin mayhave begun work on the Institutes. Aftercontributing to a convocation address atthe university, wherein his friend Nicho-las Cop publicly declared Reformationtruth, Calvin was a hunted man. Disguisedas a vintner, Calvin fled Paris, spending

the next several years on the run, assum-ing various names, always searching forquiet places to continue his study of theBible.

Check your map and gas up the rentalcar. He appears in Angouleme, where hemay have written a large part of the Insti-tutes, in Poitier where it is said he firstserved the Lord’s Supper, both bread andwine, in the caves of St. Benoit, in Neracwhere he met with venerable Lefevre, inLyon where five young converts were latermartyred for their faith; he appears in thecourt of Renee of Farrara, godly duchessand supporter of the Reformation, and inthe court of Christian queen, Margaretof Navarre.

In 1536, he appears in Basel, the “Ath-ens of Switzerland,” where he presentedthe completed first edition of The Insti-tutes of the Christian Religion, “a mas-terpiece of apologetic literature,” to theprinters Thomas Platter and BalthasarLazius. With its publication, Calvin’shopes for a quiet scholar’s life vanished.He now emerges as “the Theologian ofthe Reformation.”

Two years later, at the invitation ofMartin Bucer, he would preach and min-ister to the French congregation inStrasbourg, where he met his wife, Idelettede Bure, widow of a convert of Calvin’s,whom he termed “the excellent compan-ion of my life.”

After another stealth visit back toParis in 1536, Calvin found his routeblocked by a battle between the armiesof Francis I and Charles V near Cham-pagne; and so he took a detour, intend-ing to stay one night in Geneva… justone night.

Theodore Beza, Calvin’ssuccessor, in whose armsCalvin died, wrote of him

on the final page of hisaccount of Calvin’s life,

“Having been a spectatorof his conduct for sixteenyears… I can now declare

that in him all men maysee a most beautifulexample of Christiancharacter, an example

which is as easy to slanderas it is difficult to imitate.”


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CALVIN IN GENEVA

Calvin was about to get boots-on-the-ground schooling in the sovereignty ofGod, an object lesson in the truth, “Themind of man plans his way, but the Lorddirects his steps.” Fiery Reformer, Will-iam Farel, who had in May of 1536 trium-phantly debated with the papists inGeneva, was not about to let the giftedauthor of the Institutes out of his grip.

“Do you care to heed the will of Godin this matter,” Farel demanded, “or yourown will? If you refuse, then I denounceunto you, in the name of God Almighty.On your rest and studies shall no bless-ing fall, only fearful cursing and flamingindignation.” Calvin stayed. Later he tookas his personal motto, “My heart I offerthee, O Lord, promptly and sincerely,”and so he did throughout many tryingyears of labor for the glory of Christ’sKingdom among the “tearing wolves” ofproud, prosperous Geneva.

Much of Geneva is a bustling inter-national city with not a few obnoxiousarchitectural experiments, but imagineclimbing the cobbled streets of the oldtown past the Auditoire, the medieval hallwhere Calvin taught refugees, equippingthem to return to their countries as mis-sionaries—and for many of them—asmartyrs. Founded by Calvin, the Acad-emy, now the University of Geneva, be-gan in this hall.

Geneva’s cathedral, Saint-Pierre,where Calvin preached many of his 4,000sermons, fell victim to an 18th centuryrookie architect who decided the westentrance needed neo-Greco-Roman col-umns. It tempts one to wish Switzerlandhad entered World War II and that thearchitectural monstrosity had gottenwhat it deserves.

Divert your eyes and quickly enter thenave. Now make your way to the pulpiton the north side of the aisle and imaginelean Calvin in his black Geneva gown,carrying only his French Bible, reverentlymounting those same steps. Imagine thethrill of listeners, hearing the life-givingWord as their pastor expounded the sa-cred text—wonder of wonders—in theirown language.

Put yourself in the place of gospel-starved Genevans and refugees hearingCalvin teach the Word of God. Of thishigh calling, he wrote, “No man is fit tobe a teacher in the church save only hewho…submits himself… [to] be a fellow-disciple with other men.” Calvin preacheddoctrine but never as an end in itself.“Doctrine without zeal is either like asword in the hand of a madman, or… elseit serves for vain and wicked boasting.”

Further imagine attending a serviceand hearing French Psalmody echoing offthe stone vaulting as it did in Calvin’sday. Imagine his music director, LouisBourgeois, setting Calvin’s Psalm versi-fications to enduring melodies such asOld Hundredth and Rendez a Dieu. Con-sider the great debt all Christians owe toCalvin for recovering congregational sing-ing in worship. Little wonder John Knoxcalled Calvin’s Geneva “the most perfectschool of Christ since the days of theapostles.”

Continue down the aisle of Saint-Pierre and stand at the chancel whereslight, unarmed Calvin barred sword-wielding libertine, Philibert Berthelier,from the Supper. “These arms you maylop off… my blood is yours… But youshall never force me to give holy thingsto the profaned and dishonor the table ofmy God.”

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Take a day trip to charming Lausanne,winding past cliff-hanging vineyards andlakefront Chateau de Chillon. Conse-crated in 1275, Lausanne’s cathedral, agem of Gothic architecture, hosted a theo-logical debate, October 2, 1536. Thoughoften urged by Farel, Calvin said nothingfor three days. Then Catholic apologiststaunted the Reformers for presumed ig-norance of the early Church Fathers.Against an army of papal apologists,twenty-eight-year-old Calvin rose anddelivered a lengthy defense, reciting co-piously and entirely by memory fromAugustine and the Church Fathers, prov-ing that transubstantiation was a corruptinnovation. “But why do I seek proofsfrom men?” said Calvin. “The Scripturealone is sufficient.”

When Calvin had finished, imagineone of the most eloquent defenders ofRome stand to his feet, denounce his er-rors, and apologize to all those he hadled astray. “I defrock myself henceforthto follow Christ and his pure doctrinealone!” Revival spread throughout thecity where Theodore Beza would gainministerial experience for carrying on thework in Geneva after Calvin’s death.

Back in Geneva, Calvin was banishedby libertines who cared nothing for theBible and the glory of Christ. After threedelightful years in Strasbourg, where hemarried Idelette, “the best friend of mylife,” Calvin was persuaded to write a re-sponse to a letter by Cardinal Sadolet at-tempting to woo Geneva back to Rome.Calvin’s reply was such a persuasiveapology for Reformed Christianity thatthe Cardinal withdrew without a word.Luther said of Calvin’s letter, “Here is awriting which has hands and feet. I re-joice that God raises up such men.”

Geneva wanted Calvin back. “Ratherwould I submit to death,” he wrote, “ahundred times than to that cross on whichI had to perish daily a thousand timesover.” Again urged by Farel, Calvin duti-fully returned to Geneva, climbing hispulpit and recommencing his expositionat precisely the text he had left off threeyears before. In the next twenty-threeyears under Calvin’s ministry people hun-gry for the freedom of the gospel flockedto the city. Known throughout Europe asa haven for women and the family,Geneva’s population doubled.

After spending an hour at the Refor-mation Wall, built into the old wall of thecity on Calvin’s 400th birthday, visit theInternational Museum of the Reforma-tion. The old museum occupied a mustyback room half given to memorabilia ofCalvin and half, absurdly, to Jean JacquesRousseau. Arguably, that has changed.Connected by a subterranean passage-way to the archaeological digs underSaint-Pierre, the award-winning museumappears to be an elaborate commemora-tion of Calvin. Discover first-editionbooks, manuscripts, and artifacts ar-ranged to trace the history of the Refor-mation. Alongside Calvin’s chair andother personal effects, you will experienceinteractive exhibits like the one on theGeneva Psalter, 1551.

When you’re scratching your headat the syncretistic spin of the museum,as if the sum of Calvin’s teaching wastheological tolerance, remember that thebuilding you are in sits directly on thesite where the city Council of Geneva, in1536, voted to embrace the monergistictruth of Sola Scriptura. It will reassureyou.


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Pause at Champel Hill, near the countyhospital, at the expiatory monumenterected on the 350th anniversary of theburning of Michael Servetus. Thoughanti-Trinitarian Servetus was alreadysought by Rome for heresy, and thoughCalvin pled before City Council for a lessersentence, and though universities andmonarchs all over Europe burned thou-sands of Protestants; nevertheless, crit-ics are quick to vilify Calvin for the singleburning of pantheist-leaning Servetus.

Only a short walk from Saint-Pierre isCalvin’s home where he died, May 27,1564. Near death, he dictated these words,“I confess to live and die in this faithwhich God has given me, inasmuch as Ihave no other hope or refuge than hispredestination upon which my entire sal-vation is grounded.”

Salvation is a gift, Calvin taught, thatcomes entirely by grace alone, so there isno grace to be gained by the “fictitiousworship of dead men’s bones.” Thanksto Calvin’s humility and foresight, wherehis bones lay remains a mystery, makingthem rather difficult to worship. TheodoreBeza was right about Calvin: in him “allmen may see a most beautiful example ofChristian character.” But, alas, most havefound it easier to slander him than to imi-tate him.

“How comes it,” Calvin wrote in hisCommentary on Colossians, “that we are‘carried about with so many strange doc-trines’?” A theologically shifty age mustheed his answer: “Because the excellenceof Christ is not perceived by us.”

No one has ever gained an ounce ofgrace on a pilgrimage venerating deadmen’s bones. But all who want to grow ingrace and perceive “the excellence ofChrist” would do well to imitate Calvin’szeal for the glory of God. Christians whodo will find “stronger hope and sure” andwith sturdier faith will “boldly conquerand endure.”

1 Douglas Bond teaches history atCovenant High School in Tacoma,Washington. A leader of church historytours, he is author of more than a dozenbooks, including The Betrayal, a novelon John Calvin to be released by P&RPublishing, June 1, 2009 (read a chapterat www.bondbooks.net).

When Calvin had finished,imagine one of the mosteloquent defenders of

Rome stand to his feet,denounce his errors, andapologize to all those he

had led astray. “I defrockmyself henceforth to

follow Christ and his puredoctrine alone!” Revival

spread throughout thecity where Theodore Beza

would gain ministerialexperience for carryingon the work in Geneva

after Calvin’s death.

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Ronald Vandermey1





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WORSHIP DEFINED


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CALVIN IN NOYON







CALVIN IN PARIS




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