John Calvin: Bits of Wisdom on Obedience and Holiness
Oct 10th, 2007 by Nathan White
A favorite little book of mine is John Calvin’s Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life. Devotional, easy to read, and yet profoundly deep, I find myself returning to this little book again and again.
To give you a glimpse of what the book is like, consider a few of Calvin’s words. I’m sure there will be no small controversy given what has been taking place here this week.
Consider a few statements that particularly struck me (all emphasis mine):
“Only if we walk in the beauty of God’s law do we become sure of our adoption as children of the Father.”
“The law of God contains in itself the dynamic of the new life by which His image is fully restored in us; but by nature we are sluggish, and, therefore, we need to be stimulated, aided in our efforts by a guiding principle.”
“When we hear any mention of our mystical union with Christ, we should remember that holiness is the channel to it.”
“Holiness is not a merit by which we can attain communion with God, but a gift of Christ, which enables us to cling to Him and to follow Him.”
“For why were we delivered from the quagmire of iniquity and pollution of this world, if we want to wallow in it as long as we live?”
“The Lord has adopted us to be His children on this condition that we reveal an imitation of Christ who is the mediator of our adoption. Unless we ardently and prayerfully devote ourselves to Christ’s righteousness we do not only faithlessly revolt from our Creator, but we also abjure Him as our Savior.”
“The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life…our religion will be unprofitable if it does not change our heart, pervade our manners, and transform us into new creatures.”
“It is a very important consideration that we are consecrated and dedicated to God; it means that we may think, speak, meditate, or do anything only with a view to His glory.”
“The service of the Lord doe not only include implicit obedience, but also a willingness to put aside our sinful desires, and to surrender completely to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.”
“Indeed, a Christian out to be disposed and prepared to keep in mind that he has to reckon with God every moment of his life.”
Sorry about the mess I caused on your other post Nathan. Thanks for this post on the Golden book; it was one of my church’s book of the month selections a few months ago. I love the account of the Catholic priest who was in charge of the off-limits “heresy library” in Rome during the Reformation. He ended up reading Calvin’s Institutes and being that it is so scripture packed - the Lord used it to save this priest! I forgot which history book I read that in.
Its’ amazing to me how balanced Calvin was. He was perhaps one of the greatest Christian scholars and intellectual the world has seen. Yet, his life was not about theological intellectualism; rather, it was about living his theology in all aspects of life.
Seems like people are too eager to hear that they are forgiven and pay not attention to the bear fruit worthy of repentance part.
magnus
Jim,
Remind me to never hint at sin again less I draw ire from the masses. But that’s a wonderful story about the Catholic priest. I believe it; the GBFTCL packs a powerful punch.
Thanks for that mess, brother
Davide,
Too many write Calvin off because he possessed such an amazing intellect. Very sad, indeed. I’m with you in the he is unparalleled in church history.