Bonar: The Humble Calvinist in the work of God

February 5, 2007 Tony Reinke Calvinism, Evangelism, Horatius Bonar, Humble Calvinism, Missiology, Missions

Bonar: The Humble Calvinist in the work of God

“If Jewish or Gentile unbelief, and alienation from God were things which could be reached by moral persuasion, and human warmth; if men’s souls were within our reach as completely as their bodies, then God’s definite purpose as to salvation would be of little moment [importance]. But if the estrangement of humanity from God be a thing quite beyond man, and man’s argument or eloquence; if the resistance of a human will be a thing of almost unconceivable potency, and if the subjugation of that will require the direct forth-putting of Omnipotence, such as that which created heaven and earth, then God’s purpose is the first and last thing to be considered in going forth to deal either with Jew or Gentile. Other considerations may light up a false fire and produce a fair seeming zeal; but only the knowledge of a divine purpose can bring a man into a right missionary position, fill him with missionary devotedness, and nerve him [give confidence] in the hour of disappointment or discomfort. ‘Even so Father for so it seemed good in thy sight,’ was the truth on which the Son of God rested in the day of Israel’s first rejection of His Word; and it is just on such a truth as this, — a truth that lifts the divine purpose into its true place, that each of us, whether minister or missionary, must lean, in the day of apparent failure. The Pauline, or, if you like, the Calvinistic scheme, which connects all work for God with a definite purpose, and not with an indefinite wish, is that which alone can make us either comfortable or successful. Armed with this divine purpose, we feel ourselves invincible; nay, we are assured of being victorious. Having ascertained God’s purpose, and adopted it as the basis of our operations, we feel that we are in sympathy with God while working for Him. And it is this sympathy, this oneness of mind with God, that cheers us and sustains. He ever wins who sides with God. We shall thus be better fitted for enduring hardness, for ‘spending and being spent;’ that is, for expending ourselves, till all that is in us is expended.”

– Horatius Bonar, The Christian Treasury (1871) in The Life and Works of Horatius Bonar (CD-Rom, Lux Publications) pp. 1334-1335.

Book review: Calvin’s Teaching on Job by Derek Thomas

February 2, 2007August 22, 2007 Tony Reinke BR > Christian Focus, BR > Mentor, Calvinism, Humble Calvinism, John Calvin

Book review:
Calvin’s Teaching on Job by Derek Thomas

After recently completing N.T. Wright’s new book, Evil and the Justice of God, I came away with the sense that evil is at God’s ankles like a small poodle biting and pestering. While I learned some things, the conclusion that we should simply learn to forgive more (while being true) was also a bit unsatisfying. For one who believes in the total sovereignty of God, this picture of evil was incomplete.

But the question, ‘Why do the most godly suffer?,’ is a question every Christian comes face-to-face with and to which every pastor must give an answer. I’m finding that the answer to this question is found within another big problem – how do we interpret the book of Job?

So when Derek Thomas’ book, Calvin’s Teaching on Job: Proclaiming the Incomprehensible God, arrived in the mail, I was eager to dive deep. And Thomas did not disappoint. With incredible depth, Thomas leads the reader systematically through Calvin’s thoughts as he wrestled with the book of Job. Here you will find both encouragement to tackle the book of Job expositionally and also real-life answers to the most perplexing questions in the Christian life. It’s a book that I will come back to time and time again when my own soul and the souls of friends ask the question ‘Why?’

Maybe the most helpful point I learned was exegetical. Calvin teaches us to use Elihu to interpret the Jobian dialogues (see Job 32:1-37:24). “While Calvin is consistently critical of the advice of Bildad, Eliphaz, and Zophar, he is generally supportive of the contribution of Elihu” (226). Elihu best understood the sovereignty of God, the nature of justice, the separation between God and man and that God’s justice and power go alongside His goodness.

By favoring the advice and input of Elihu, Calvin takes from the dialogues several helpful principles: Trials are appointed by God’s providence to educate us, they are used by God to humble us, they bring our hidden sins to the surface, and they bring us to repentance. “Afflictions also drive us to desire more of God’s help, provoking us to return to him, by drawing us to him, taming us, and teaching us to pray.” Certainly, “the distribution of trials is not whimsical or arbitrary” (228).

The bottom line is that God is incomprehensible. His providence is beyond our understanding. We cannot see the big picture, but we can rest in a sovereign God who does!

“When bad things happen to the righteous, the Lord is involved in the deepest possible way. Far from removing God from such crises in the interest of rescuing him from the charge of sin’s authorship, Calvin regularly takes God further and further into the difficulty. He meets the ensuing theological and pastoral difficulties by resorting to God’s incomprehensibility” (375).

Although it was a doctoral dissertation, the book reads very well. The old English spelling of Calvin’s sermons on Job may be annoying but you will pick up on it as you read (to “… shewe vs hee is the iudge of the world we must learne to stande in awe of him”). Thomas is critical of Calvin when necessary. The book itself is over 60-percent footnotes (surely setting some record). The masses of footnotes are mostly direct references from Calvin, providing him an extensive first-hand voice while keeping the book clean and concise.

For 14 months between 1554 and 1555 John Calvin preached through the book of Job, leaving a wealth of expositional insights and pastoral applications for future expositors. Dr. Thomas has assembled these insights in a systematic format that will benefit the student seeking a guide to Calvin’s thought, the pastor seeking a guide to counseling, and for the preacher seeking an exegetical guide to interpret the book of Job. An excellent addition to the library of a Humble Calvinist.

Title: Calvin’s Teaching on Job: Proclaiming the Incomprehensible God
Author: Derek Thomas
Boards: hardcover
Pages: 416
Volumes: 1
Dust jacket: no
Binding: glue
Paper: normal
Topical index: yes
Scriptural index: no
Text: perfect type
Publisher: Christian Focus Publications, Mentor
Year: 2004
Price USD: $25.99/$18.99 from CBD
ISBNs: 1857929225, 9781857929225

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Humble Calvinism: (12) The Institutes > The “mutual bond” of God’s power and Word (1.9)

February 1, 2007February 1, 2007 Tony Reinke Calvinism, Humble Calvinism, Humble orthodoxy, spurgeon

Part 12: The “mutual bond” of God’s power and Word (1.9)

For John Calvin, the connection between the power of God’s Spirit and God’s Word are inseparable. It is the Spirit’s confirming power in our unbelieving hearts that authenticates the divine origin of the Word of God. No proofs or philosophical reasoning could ever seal this truth in a dead and blind soul.

But this chapter brings us to one of the first places Calvin points out those who are in error (something Calvin does not shy away from). These “Libertines” were introducing “a heinous sacrilege” and a “devilish madness” (93). Apparently these “rascals” had begun believing that the Spirit works independently of the Word of God and that those who continued to follow the old Scriptures were “simple” and too limiting of the Spirit.

Now before we get into the debate a little more (and why its important for us today) we should take a moment to notice how Calvin teaches theology. Calvin frequently uses antithesis. He first teaches what Scripture teaches and then he reveals the doctrinal antithesis and those who contradict. Calvin teaches us about truly divine knowledge, true revelation, the true worship of God, the Trinity and biblical anthropology in these first chapters of the Institutes. But along the way he will point out the false ways to know God, the nature idolatry, false views of the Trinity and anthropology. (For an excellent chart on the antithetical arguments see Analysis of the Institutes by Battles, pp. 19-23). Calvin keeps the antithesis in view at all times.

According to the arguments of Calvin, we learn that these Libertines believed the Word of God was “fleeting or temporal” and that over time the Holy Spirit would succeed Scripture in relevance. The Spirit would be newer and more original, Scripture would become less important and less relevant. Calvin will rebuke the Libertines with Scripture.

According to what we have seen recently in the Institutes, there can be no separation between God’s power and God’s Word. Calvin calls this a “mutual bond” (95). We’ve seen in the past two chapters that it’s the Holy Spirit Himself that confirms the authenticity of the written Word. At least for apologetics and evangelism, the two go hand-in-hand. But in this chapter Calvin will broaden his language beyond evangelism and apologetics.

The major argument of Calvin grows from John 16:13 where Jesus says “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” Therefore Calvin writes, the Spirit “has not the task of inventing new and unheard-of revelations, or of forging a new kind of doctrine, to lead us away from the received doctrine of the gospel, but of sealing our minds with that very doctrine which is commended by the gospel” (94). The Spirit’s work is intimately concerned with Scripture.

Specifically, we see the power of the Spirit is unleashed when He seals our minds with the doctrine of the gospel (94). The mighty power of the Spirit is unleashed when sinners are brought under conviction of their sin and see the freedom and beauty of Christ dying as their perfect substitute! God’s power and God’s Word work hand-in-hand. Thus drawing people away from the gospel towards new revelation undermines the very work of the Spirit Himself.

God’s Word and God’s Spirit cannot be separated in apologetics and evangelism (as we see in chapters 7 and 8). But in this chapter Calvin broadens the language to say, “we ought zealously to apply ourselves both to read and to hearken to Scripture if indeed we want to receive any gain and benefit from the Spirit of God” (94). So here in this chapter the language is broadened to say that “any gain and benefit” we receive from the Spirit comes through the Word of God.

It appears the Word creates a sort of boundary to the Spirit’s work. And it should be this way, Calvin argues, because how would we ever authenticate the work of the Spirit if not by the guide of Scripture? Wouldn’t we be assaulted by Satanic counterfeits of the Spirit’s work if Scripture does not provide ‘parameters’ for the work of the Spirit? How will we know the Spirit is at work, not Satan, if not through “a most certain mark” (94)?

Thus Scripture gives us a guide to the work of the Holy Spirit so we may “embrace the Spirit with no fear of being deceived when we recognize him in his own image, namely, in the Word” (95). If the Spirit works beyond Scripture, we have no way of discerning the authenticity of that work.

Back to the Libertines. Calvin argues that spiritual experiences do not negate the authority and sufficiency of the Word. Was not Paul taken to the third heavens and yet he could say “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Paul’s experience of the Spirit of God did not shake his confidence in the sufficiency of Scripture. Did not Peter hear God’s direct voice from heaven? Yet he confirms the sufficiency of God’s Word (2 Pet. 1:18-19). The power of the Spirit confirms the Word; it never makes Scripture obsolete.

Therefore only when “proper reverence and dignity are given to the Word does the Holy Spirit show forth his power” (95). When we revere God’s Word it becomes the “word of life” whereby the Holy Spirit revives life to dead souls (Phil. 2:16, Ps. 19:7, Luke 24:27,45).

In evangelism, apologetics, or any other time when the Spirit is at work, there is no separation between the power of the Spirit and the words of Scripture! They abide together in a “mutual bond.”

Calvinistic meditations …

1. Emphasize the Spirit and the Word together. Rarely will you find churches and preachers de-emphasize the power of God’s Spirit. But daily I hear of churches that de-emphasize the importance of Scripture. We need to be reminded that by de-emphasizing Scripture we are de-emphasizing the Spirit’s power at the same time. The two walk hand-in-hand in a “mutual bond.” Expect the full power of the Spirit to come alongside the full preaching of the Word. If we preach a tiny bit of Scripture we should expect a tiny bit of the Spirit. Ironically, it’s weakening churches that typically abandon most of Scripture, the one God-given balm to their downward slide. The Spirit and Word go together (see John 3:34, 6:63, Acts 4:31, 10:44, 1 Cor. 2:4,13, Eph. 6:17, 1 Thes. 1:5-6, Heb. 4:12).

2. Beware of discontent with Scripture. Church history teaches us that great errors are introduced into the church when its leaders grow discontent with Scripture. The intrusion of psychological language and methods that replaced the concepts of sin and sanctification is one great example. To this day, the church is still weeding out this intrusion of decades past. Our job is not to add power or relevance to Scripture. We are called to rest by faith that God’s power will come through God’s Word. It’s through the Word that the Spirit will “show forth His power” (95). God responds in power to those who tremble at His Word (Isa. 66:2).

3. Cling to the sufficiency of Scripture. By tying the power of God to the Word of God, Calvin has made a strong case for the sufficiency of Scripture. The discontent and impatience with Scripture will only happen if we have abandoned a commitment to the sufficiency of Scripture. If God’s Word is sufficient to transform dead souls, does it lack anything (see Ps. 19:7, Jam. 1:18, 1 Pet. 1:23)? The overall sufficiency of Scripture is a major theme (read Ps. 19, 119 and 2 Tim. 3:15-17). A practical denial of the sufficiency of Scripture leads to discontent with Scripture, which leads to a failure to understand Scripture, which opens the door for Satanic deception. Like a handful of rock on the side of a cliff, we must cling to Scripture’s sufficiency or there will be no end to the fall.

(Warning! Bandwagon approaching…)

4. Let Scripture define the work of the Spirit. Read 1 Corinthians 14 and see how the strength of the New Testament church rests upon the continuing prophetic gifts. Don’t limit the Spirit’s work in the church to something less than biblical. Re-think Cessationism. [Much love to my disagreeing brothers!] :-)

Bottom line: The power of God and the Word of God walk together in a “mutual bond.” Don’t expect the Spirit to be unleashed where the Word is not preached. And pray in expectation that as you preach His truth, His power will change lives forever! This reverence towards the Word and expectation of the Spirit’s power are at the heart of Humble Calvinism.

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2007 Banner of Truth Pastor’s Conference details

January 30, 2007April 17, 2007 Tony Reinke 2007 BOT MC, Banner of Truth, Calvinism, Humble Calvinism, John Calvin

This year I’m planning to attend two new conferences. The first is the Sovereign Grace Ministries Leadership Conference in April and the other is the Banner of Truth pastors’ conference in May. I’ve heard about them but never seen them for myself. Lord willing, this spring I will attend them both.

As you may have guessed, one of the major reasons I am spending so much time in John Calvin these first months of 2007 is to prepare for the upcoming Banner of Truth Ministers’ Conference entitled “Set Apart for God.” The conference runs between May 29th and 31st on the campus of Messiah College in Grantham, PA. Speakers will include two of my favorites, Derek Thomas and Walt Chantry (Chantry wrote the excellent book, The Shadow of the Cross). I look forward to Dr. Thomas’ trio of presentations on holiness, especially as they relate to Calvin’s Institutes. It is encouraging to see emphasis on Calvin’s understanding of the Christian life (as I think he has much to offer here). Dr. Thomas wrote an excellent book on Calvin’s understanding of the book of Job which has recently become one of my favorites. We’ll look more at this book on Friday.

UPDATE 3/14: Walt Chantry will not be available to speak this year. Instead, Sinclair Ferguson will be taking his place.

But for more information on the pastors’ conference you can download the newly-released conference PDF here and you can register here. Should be a fun time. And from what I’m told, Friends of the Shepherd’s Scrapbook will get an exclusive tour of the Banner of Truth warehouse in Carlise, PA as an added bonus!

Humble Calvinism: (10) The Institutes > The self-authenticated Word (1.7)

January 25, 2007January 25, 2007 Tony Reinke Calvinism, Humble Calvinism, Humble orthodoxy, John Calvin, spurgeon

Part 10: The self-authenticated Word (1.7)

Sinners are in bad shape. We neglect as much of God’s glory as we can and the unmistakable evidence we do see is quickly suppressed and ignored. We want to live autonomously. We want to be independent from God, making our own decisions and choosing what we think is good for us. We are not merely ignorant of God, we are enemies of God (Rom. 5:10). We let our worldly, temporal appetites guide our lives and become enemies of the Cross in the process (Phil. 3:18-19). We are not ignorant biology students needing more information, we are sinners actively resisting truth and rebelling against God.

So when the Roman Catholic catechism of 1997 (π 154) teaches, “Trusting in God and cleaving to the truths he has revealed is contrary neither to human freedom nor to human reason” I can only shake my head. It contradicts both depraved bondage and a mind that suppresses truth like a boot suppresses an empty pop can.

The big question of the day is this: For the sinner to give the Word of God the full weight of her reverence and obedience, God must first burn these convictions supernaturally into her heart. For the Word of God to truly impact our lives, God must abduct us! He must convince us of the authenticity of His Word. He must convince us that His words are “sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Ps. 119:103). We must be given “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16).

Once again, it goes back to the sovereign intervention of God. He alone can cause His elect to submit to the full authority of the Word by convincing them of the authenticity of the Word. This is exactly what God does.

The church and religious authority are insufficient (1.7.1-3)

The church does not have the authority to authenticate the Word. In Calvin’s day (and to our day), Roman Catholicism believed the authority of Scripture was authenticated via the authority of the papacy. This is impossible. According to Ephesians 2:20 the Word of God’s authority and authenticity preceded the church! No church ruler, pope, cardinal or pastors can authenticate the Word because the Word preceded the church.

In fact, no human authority can authenticate the Word. Calvin writes, “what will happen to the miserable conscience seeking firm assurance of the eternal life if all promises of it consist in and depend solely upon the judgment of men?” (75). It is absurd to think that the authenticity of Scripture rests upon council or decree.

Here’s the punch line: “Scripture exhibits fully as clear evidence of its own truth as white and black things do of their color, or sweet and bitter things do of their taste” (76). Scripture is self-authenticated!

Where “divine majesty lives and breathes” (1.7.4-5)

No sinner gives their life to the biblical God and the doctrines and truths contained in the Word until they are “persuaded beyond doubt that God is its Author” (78). And later, “For even if it wins reverence for itself by its own majesty, it seriously affects us only when it is sealed upon our hearts through the Spirit” (80). In other words, you can take the “Bible as Literature” course in college and be amazed at the literary styles and structure of the Bible and yet never be changed by the eternal truths contained within. God must sovereignly burn the authenticity of the Word into our hearts. He must authenticate in our own rebellious hearts that God is the Author. He must give us spiritual eyes and tongues to see and taste that God’s Word is what it claims.

Calvin references Isaiah 43:10: “’You are my witnesses,’ declares the LORD, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He.’”

We must rest upon a divine power stronger than rational evidence and scientific proofs because even if the Word is authenticated by rationalism and proofs we will “ever waver among many doubts.” Rather, “those whom the Holy Spirit has inwardly taught truly rest upon Scripture, and that Scripture indeed is self-authenticated; hence, it is not right to subject it to proof and reasoning” (80). The authenticating power of the Spirit is “more excellent than all reason” (79).

By not resting in proofs and human reasoning, the authority and authenticity of Scripture rest upon something higher and stronger. “We seek no proofs, no marks of genuineness upon which our judgment may lean; but we subject our judgment and wit to it as to a thing far beyond any guesswork” (80). When the Holy Spirit confirms Scripture in our hearts “we feel that the undoubted power of his divine majesty lives and breathes there. By this power we are drawn and inflamed, knowingly and willingly, to obey him, yet also most vitally and more effectively than by mere human willing or knowing!” (80).

In summary, Calvin teaches us that Scripture is self-authenticated (Gk. autopiston). Its authenticity rests in the truth that Scripture is where God’s “divine majesty lives and breathes” (80). And every sinner God chooses to invade, abduct, and transform will experience the burning authenticity of the Spirit.

This does not mean there are no proofs and reasons for the authenticity of Scripture. There are, and Calvin will give us many to ponder in the next chapter. But proofs are not enough to convince spiritually dead enemies of God. Humble Calvinism teaches it that if I am going to understand God and obey His Word, He must invade my heart and burn a conviction of its truth into my heart.

Calvinistic meditations …

1. Watch your evangelism. How do we prove the authority and authenticity of God’s Word to sinners? We don’t. This truth will radically impact our evangelism. As you probably know, there is a tremendous pressure in our church culture to use rational proofs and arguments to “convince” sinners of the truth of Scripture. If this is your evangelistic strategy, you and your audience will always be haunted by the next ‘proofs’ and ‘arguments’ of the opposing views. Christianity is a call for sinners to believe in eternal things. There is no proof. How do you prove the perfect righteousness and resurrection to one who wants scientific data? As A.W. Tozer once said, “To seek proof is to admit doubt, and to obtain proof is to render faith superfluous” (Knowledge of the Holy, p. 19). Press sinners to embrace mystery, preach the gospel and let God take the responsibility of burning this truth upon sinner’s hearts. Your main concern is with presenting biblical truth accurately. The gospel – not proofs or rationalism – is the power of God to save depraved sinners (Rom 1:16).

2. Remember the depravity of our hearts. Churches that attempt to convince sinners of the truth with rationalism have fundamentally misunderstood our depravity so clearly stated in Romans and Ephesians. We need to ever remind ourselves of the state of the sinful human heart. Evidence can demand a verdict from sinners suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, but such verdict will never come (Rom. 1:18).

3. Expect rejection. Some preachers hide behind rationalism and human wisdom to avoid being rejected by sinners. Rejection and acceptance is not your responsibility – preaching the whole counsel of God is! If your audience is split over the gospel – some see it as the power of God and some see the gospel as foolishness – you are probably doing something right (1 Cor. 1:18-2:16). Keep boasting in the Cross! Some sinners will rest their hopes in signs and wonders alone, and they will never have signs or wonders enough. Some will want wisdom and proof and they will always waiver and struggle. But we are called to “preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:23-25). If we are running from rejection we will mold church methods with fatal flaws and replace the gospel with something less foolish.

“For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:11-14).

So when you speak to other sinners, speak the truth in love. Pray that God would give them spiritual eyes to see that the “undoubted power of His divine majesty lives and breathes” in the Word. Oh, how it burns!

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Humble Calvinism: (9) The Institutes > Clinging to a thread (1.6)

January 23, 2007January 23, 2007 Tony Reinke Calvinism, Humble Calvinism, John Calvin

Part 9: Clinging to a thread (1.6)

With the help of microchips and electrical pulses, scientists are confident that the blind will one day see again. In our study of God, we now come to the reality that God confronts our spiritual blindness with His own advancements.

As we’ve seen in our series on Humble Calvinism, God’s glory is displayed in the universe for all to see with the hopes that we will honor and thank Him (Rom. 1:21). We don’t. We’re blind and we suppress Him to preserve our sinfulness (Rom. 1:18). The revelation God shines in the natural world is loud and bold but because of our sinful ignorance and suppression of this truth, it calls out “in vain” (73). Our hardened hearts miss the point. We need more than brighter colors, louder sounds or more complex genetic structures in creation. We need God to reveal Himself in a new way. We need new revelation.

God must speak more directly of Himself. For Calvin, Scripture is a “better help,” a “special gift,” the “pure knowledge of Himself,” and a “more direct and more certain mark whereby he is to be recognized” (69-70). Scripture is a bold solution directed at the blindness due to our depravity.

Calvin will not address our need for Scripture to understand the way of salvation until later. Here he says, merely to see God as the Creator of the universe, we need Scripture! Even though creation screams the glory of God every day through landscapes, microscopes and telescopes we need Scripture to tell us that God is the One who “founded and governs the universe” (70).

It would be accurate to subtitle Scripture “The Working of God in the Created Order for Dummies.” Merely the need for Scripture reminds us that we sinners just don’t get the point. The need for the bible reveals our ‘radical’ depravity. We walk blind in broad daylight.

Question. Has anyone ever tapped your head with their knuckles when you didn’t get something? Now pick up your bible and smack yourself on the forehead. In love, that’s what it was made for. We should have first seen God through His creation and pursued Him. We don’t.

So by giving us His special, more specific Word (the bible) and opening its meaning to our hearts, God gives sinners the precious gift of sight! This revelation through His Word now renders faith “unambiguous forever” and “superior to all opinion” (71). His Word opens the eyes of the blind to Himself. Through Scripture we can see again. Through Scripture we are given the content of faith that no human opinion can shake!

Even here, piety is central to Calvin. We understand God rightly in the Word only when we “reverently embrace” what God reveals of Himself because “all right knowledge of God is born of obedience” (72). Again and again, Calvin protects us from the idea that knowledge of God is gained just like knowledge of biology. Genuine piety (otherwise known as ‘reverence’) is central to understanding God. We must come to Scripture to learn about God in fearfulness, not flippancy. God says we must come to Him as one who is “humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My word” (Isa. 66:2). How does a rebel sinner come to this place? God must subdue him. We’ll talk more about this amazing work of God in the coming weeks.

There are other reasons we must have special revelation from God in His Word. Our hard hearts (even regenerated hearts!) are naturally inclined to forget God, slide towards errors and create our own empty religions. Calvin writes, “how slippery is the fall of the human mind into forgetfulness of God, how great the tendency to every kind of error, how great the lust to fashion constantly new and artificial religions” (72). Scripture protects us from these errors because it elevates truth beyond our “depraved judgment” and into the “rule of eternal truth” (73).

When you add our depravity and blindness together with the gift of the truth we make one conclusion: We must always be pressing closer to Scripture as our guide. We must walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Scripture must be the computer chip and electrical pulses to override our spiritual blindness. Calvin illustrates the concept like this,

“If we turn aside from the Word … though we may strive with strenuous haste, yet, since we have got off the track, we shall never reach the goal. For we should so reason that the splendor of the divine countenance [or God’s presence], which even the apostle calls ‘unapproachable,’ is for us like an inexplicable labyrinth unless we are conducted into it by the thread of the Word; so that it is better to limp along this path than to dash with all speed outside it” (73).

The path to the presence of God is an “inexplicable labyrinth.” There are so many winding staircases and hallways, and millions of choices that will lead away from God’s presence. There is a way that seems right to a man but it’s the way of death (Pro. 14:12). So we must walk by faith and not by sight, opinion or feeling. In effect our sinful ignorance hides Him. Yet along the path God has stretched a thread. Some will chase their own opinions or hastily run into all error, but the Christian slowly limps along the path, following the thread of the Word through this stairway, over this bridge, now down these stairs and around through a narrow doorway off to the side and through another tunnel.

As soon as we take our hand off this “thread” we are lost. Calvin closes this chapter with John 4:1-45 where Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at a rest stop. Samaria itself was a bad place because of its theological heresies. The Samaritans built their religion off only the first five books of the Old Testament. This reductionism was dangerous. So dangerous, Jesus did not hesitate in telling the Samaritan woman she worshipped in “ignorance” (v. 22). Her church was worthless.

Calvin writes that when sinners begin “seeking God without the Word” they naturally “stagger about in vanity and error” (74). The Samaritans had taken their hands off the Word, were blind and now lost in the labyrinth.

So everyone who has a bible can see the spiritual realities clearly? Well, no. Before sinners put their entire trust in the message of the bible, they must first be convinced Scripture is the ‘real deal.’ So how do we convince other blind, truth-suppressing sinners to leave their own religious opinions and cling to the bible as God’s one revelation of Himself? Rational proofs? Arguments? Debates? What we will see next time is perhaps the most stunning truth I’ve ever learned from Calvin…

Calvinistic meditations …

1. Nothing cautions us of our own spiritual blindness more than Humble Calvinism. We miss God in creation every day! So how can we become prideful in our knowledge of Scripture? Why would I ever think that running a church or preaching a sermon without clinging to Scripture will lead through the labyrinth? How can we let go of the thread and think human opinion will guide the way? Scripture reminds us to be cautious of our own hearts because they are naturally inclined towards errors and false religions. The thread of God’s Word leads the way, but it also prevents empty speculation and the impulse to find a better route. (Occasionally you may find it helpful to smack yourself in the forehead with a bible to be reminded of this.)

2. Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman reminds us to beware of theological reductionism. Theological reductionism is one of the most rampant problems in contemporary Christianity. It’s not merely that gross errors abound. Many churches believe in the Trinity and seven-day Creationism and the importance of Jesus. Theological reductionism concerned with what is missing, of churches building their theology and methods off only part of Scripture. So churches now will call people to come to Jesus but not talk about sin and hell and guilt to drive them His way. People get saved from something other than God’s wrath. Other churches will talk about Jesus but not the substitutionary atonement whereby He bears my wrath and I get the grace. Both are common examples of contemporary theological reductionism. Jesus reminds the Samaritan woman that even to build a church upon part of the truth is to take both hands off the thread. So it’s no surprise that churches who struggle with theological reductionism will not place a high priority on lengthy expositions through Scripture nor doctrinal precision.

It’s important to note that John Calvin wrote the Institutes to complement his extensive expositional studies through the bible. Look to the commentaries if you want the specific details on Calvin’s systematic conclusions. Letting the full range of Scripture determine your beliefs is an excellent model for all Christians and pastors. Summarize your faith but be ready to defend its Scriptural basis as well.
Bottom line: We must never rest ourselves in vague talk about church, Jesus and Heaven lest we likewise worship in “ignorance.” Don’t be convinced a church is truly Christian just because they use the same words and terms as the bible. Search out their gospel, their savior and their hell. And if you are a pastor, make it your top aim to always be pushing yourself and your church as deep into Scripture as God allows.

3. Prepare for a long road of biblical growth. God’s special revelation is lengthy and filled with many details. God clearly did not intend it to be read in a weekend. It will take your entire lifetime and hundreds of sermons to work through. Humble Calvinism is a call to life-long, patient growth. Put both hands on the thread of Scripture. You won’t run fast, but you’ll walk securely. Resist the temptation to live faster than you can hold on to Scripture. If books encourage you to grow your church without slowly disclosing the whole counsel of God, you can be certain its author, having lost the thread, now runs ignorantly through the dark caves.

Never! Never! Never, let go of the thread! It’s your only hope into the presence of God!

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