Happy Birthday, Calvin!
Happy birthday, John Calvin! It’s been 508 years since you were born in your beloved France. How should we celebrate? If you were here, would you join us? The Enjoyment of God’s Gifts He would probably disapprove…
Tag John Calvin
Renée of France and the Plight of the Churchless
The Jesuit Jean Pelletier, called by Duke Ercole II of Este to put a stop to the dangerous “Lutheran” practices of his wife Renée, was not impressed by his conversation with the duchess. “The poor woman has no education,” he…
The Ruling Elder: An Indispensable Element of a Well-Ordered Church
The Minister has been in the forefront of Protestant church leadership since the Reformers recovered the primacy of preaching as the means of creating and deepening faith, having dethroned the priest, who was seen by Rome as the central actor…
The Priesthood of All Believers: We Still Need Pastors
As we contemplate the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation we are reminded of the glorious truths (and their entailed spiritual experiences) rediscovered and recovered that had been long lost under centuries of encrusted extra-biblical tradition. Clericalism…
Book Giveaway: Simonetta Carr Bundle
Thanks to our official book sponsor, Reformation Heritage Books, we have a 4-book bundle of Simonetta Carr’s Christian Biographies for Young Readers that we are giving away: Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, and John Owen. Deadline to register is Friday, February 24. Enter…
The Federalist Papers: Calvin’s Echo Chamber
The popular Federalist Papers in many ways reflect the continuation of Calvin’s view of man and the state.[1] Alexander Hamilton began The Federalist Papers by asserting that the people of this country have reserved to themselves the important question of whether “societies of…
Rounding Out Calvin’s Advice
Calvin’s discussion of Romans 13 began by explaining that all civil power originates with the sovereign God—not with man, as later secular schemes suggested. He then discussed the role of civil government and the duty of the Christian to submit…
Limited Government, Beginning with the Family
Although some theologians claim to see discrepancies between Calvin’s early thought in The Institutes and his later commentaries and sermons on the matter of resistance, a review of his commentary on Daniel 6:21-23 reveals no radical discontinuity. Admittedly, certain events,…
The Need for Collegial Governing Mainstay or a Senate
Moses’ layered scheme, advised by his father in law in Exodus 18 seemed to Calvin and his disciples to be republicanism. Commenting on a similar passage in Deuteronomy 1:14-16, Calvin stated: “Hence it more plainly appears that those who were to preside…
Limited Atonement: L is for Living
Faithful preachers and teachers in the Church have always looked for effective ways to communicate their points. The acronym TULIP, of course, is a device meant to communicate the core of the doctrine of human salvation. Like all pedagogical devices,…