Blogging The Institutes

What is repentance? Both the Hebrew and the Greek vocabulary for repentance signify a turning, and this brings Calvin to his definition: 'it is the true turning of our life to God, a turning that arises from a pure and earnest fear of him; and it consists in the mortification of our flesh and of...

Sometimes Scripture uses faith and hope as synonyms, joining them closely together. They have the same foundation and the same goal - to rest in the mercy of God, abandoning ourselves to him. But faith has another companion also - any discussion of faith, says Calvin, that neglected 'repentance and...

Can we be certain of our salvation? Calvin was neither the first nor the last to tackle the issue of assurance of salvation, and with profound pastoral insight he wants to show how faith and hope co-exist. He begins in this section, however, by tackling the scholastic view of faith and assurance,...

Having emphasised that faith rests on the promises of the covenant, Calvin now stresses the fact that these promises are in Christ, knowledge of whom IS the gospel. While sinful man enjoy God's bounty and goodness, the believer recognises God's love for what it is, and also that it is in Christ...

3.2.28 - 3.2.31 As Calvin continues to discuss the nature of faith, he makes the point that the assurance of faith is not connected to any promises of worldly prosperity of comfort but rather to the expectation of the life to come. In this world, we are pilgrims and sojourners, resident aliens, who...

Calvin continues his discussion of faith by addressing the issue of fear, talking his cue from Paul's reference in Phil. 2.12 to `fear and trembling.' Fear can, of course, be a very bad thing, antithetical to the kind of assurance which lies at the heart of a robust Christian faith. Such is servile...

In these paragraphs, Calvin continues his discussion of faith when, having distinguished the true from the false, he addresses the manner in which the believing individual experiences the world. What is particularly significant here is the way in which Calvin moves seamlessly from theological...

In these paragraphs, Calvin continues to address the many complexities that surround the relationship between true faith and its counterfeits. Both pastoral experience and accounts given in scripture lead Calvin to believe that there is such a thing as false faith, and that this can, at least for a...

Calvin borrows the idea of a just war from Augustine. Everything is to be tried in order to preserve the peace before war is declared, though waging war obviously means that reparations must be made, if necessary. A consideration of such reparations naturally leads Calvin to the question of...

In this section, Calvin defines true faith over against false alternatives. It is, he says, `a firm and certain knowledge of God's benevolence toward us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit.' A...