Recently, I’ve started reading a book (or actually, it’s five books in one) called The Institutes of the Christian Religion, by John Calvin. I am only in the first book of the five because there are numerous prefaces and introductions to the book. There is one writing from the translator, one from another Calvin scholar, and numerous translated writings from John Calvin himself about the body of work. The primary purpose of these writings is to basically lay the groundwork of biblical theology directed (initially) for students of theology. He wanted to present a text that would draw the students back into the Word of God and also present sound philosophical arguments for the biblical representation of the human condition and the reality of the biblical historical accounts. Now, it is also important to note that although that was his initial intent, this work also presented a strong case for true biblical Christianity (which was in opposition to what the “church” was at that time). He was writing against the corruption and the lies that were being presented to the “church” from the leaders at that time. This is especially apparent in his letter to the King of France, to whom Calvin presented this work. He was pleading for the King to consider the biblical position which he is presenting in his work (and even his letter to the King could practically constitute a “book” and stand alone instead of a preface to the rest of the book).
I have been drawn into his writings so easily for many reasons…1. The Protestant Church has been so heavily influenced by his writings and the appeal that Luther, Calvin and numerous other reformers made to the people in an effort to better the church. 2. My personal theology has been heavily influenced by much of what I’ve read of his work, and I really wanted to read deeper into it. 3. And perhaps the greatest reason of all: Calvin’s heart and love for God are poured out on every page and in every word; his utmost priority is to glorify the Lord in all that he does.
One of the things that has struck me so deeply about Calvin is not only how ridiculously good he is at communicating through writing, but also how thorough the work is. He specifically states that he won’t go into the same level of detail in any of his commentaries which would follow the writing of this book for the fact that he has been basically exhaustive with these writings.
I think often times Calvin is misrepresented by people who (often very proudly) call themselves “Calvinists.” First of all, many of these people claim affiliation to him before they do to Christ…to which I would immediately appeal to Paul’s 1st letter to the church in Corinth where he speaks of divisions within the church and how some of them claimed to follow Paul, others Apollo, others Cephas…and his appeal is back to Christ. He says, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?” And, judging from what I see in Calvin’s writings, I’m confident he would have been very quick to point people to this very text when they claim to have affiliation with him or anybody other than Christ (just as Paul does in 1 Cor 1 and 3). I think that the heart behind the theology of Calvin is all about the glory of God and the reality that Scripture is our final authority…and I think his heart is often not communicated when people who are proponents of his theological framework present their cases. Okay, back to the point I was trying to make…
One of the things that has really struck me about this is just how knowledgeable he was of the Scriptures. Almost every other sentence so far is a reference to or direct quote from Scripture. You can tell when you read his writings that he immersed himself into the Word of God and really meditated upon it. I love reading writers who have the Scriptures as the primary text from which they work…and Calvin certainly does that. One of the things that reading it has caused me to do is to reflect upon how little time I spend truly meditating upon the Word of God. It’s really caused me to “give careful thought to my ways” as the Lord spoke through Haggai to Zerubbabel. I’ve been thinking about the length of the book and it is a seriously substantial read. A book like that would very likely be an entirely life’s work for me if I wanted to undertake such a writing. And for Calvin, not only did he write this, but he also translated the entire writing! As if that isn’t enough, he also wrote numerous other books, and battled illness his entire adult life. Oh, and this was all LONG before there were computers or typewriters or anything…it was all with a pen! I’m not saying this in an effort to glorify John Calvin, but I’m so challenged by the tenacity with which he worked for the Lord. He made it his absolute top priority to give himself completely to the efforts of reforming the Church, and restoring the Word of God to its proper place, as the ultimate authority on this earth.
I feel like we live in a day and age where we have all of the conveniences in the world. We are able to do about 20 different tasks all at one time and we have so many tools to help us accomplish each of these tasks simultaneously and as quickly as possible. Often times, I feel that even though we can do so many things all at once and in such a quick manner, this may often be to our own detriment. I find that much of the time, when I feel the Lord nudging me to open His Word and spend deliberate time in prayer…there is always something else vying for my attention. Even when I log on here to write a blog or check my email, there are ads that pop up on the side of the page trying to pull my focus away from my thoughts and on to basically anything else. We are bombarded by a slew of different messages practically constantly…and sometimes I think the Lord speaks in whispers.
I think though, that there were plenty of distractions that historical theologians had to deal with as well. So us living in an age where we have multimedia everything and sensory overload all the time, does not excuse us from neglecting our Lord. Actually, what we have is numerous little idols in our lives that we often don’t acknowledge as idols. The Lord is wanting to work in our hearts and we are called to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. How often I ignore this command and simply allow myself to be distracted. I want to be more deliberate about making the time to really hear from the Lord…and not just give Him my spare moments before meals and before bed. He is the God of everything and over everything and He deserves my undivided attention. He deserves my first-fruits, not my leftovers. I’m praying that I will be open to hear from the Lord and be proactive to seek His face first so that my will can be brought into conformity with His. I need to walk in His grace with gratitude and begin to live out the love for Him that I profess to possess. I need to make the time to truly meditate upon His Word and to have them flow from my heart and out of my mouth so that I can bring glory to Him in all that I do. Lord Jesus, help me.
Yes!!