Good words on worship

The Presbyterian church where I serve as an elder is in the middle of a spirited conversation on worship. Issues include how long the service should be, what style of music to have, and how often we celebrate Holy Communion. Emotions often run high when discussing worship, and they should, for it's the most important thing a Christian participates in. Worship is our eternal destiny!

Here are two excellent articles I've come across recently that address two essential aspects of biblical worship -- singing and the sacraments.

From Baptist minister Brian Hedges "Growing Your Appetite for the Lord's Supper"

and

Here is N.T. Wright's call to "Save the Best Worship Songs".

What are the best worship songs? You'll have to read it to find out.

What happens in Holy Communion?

This Sunday is World Communion Sunday and like thousands of other churches around the world my church will be participating. As Presbyterians our understanding of what happens at the Lord's table is derived primarily from John Calvin, and ultimately we hope from the Bible. In other words we believe Calvin's understanding to be closest to what scripture teaches. This is a subject that Calvin thought long and hard about and ultimately there was a fork in the road between Calvinists and Lutherans that continues to this day.

Here's a great quote from Keith Mathison's book on Calvin's doctrine of the Lord's Supper (click on the link below for more).

Calvin is convinced that the main problem with most explanations of the Eucharist is that they assume that a local, corporeal presence is necessary in order for believers to truly partake of the flesh and blood of Christ. He believes that this assumption is false, and that it gave rise to theories such as transubstantiation and the ubiquity of Christ’s body. He is convinced that many of these controversies could be avoided if this unnecessary assumption were rejected. Calvin is convinced that believers may truly partake of the body of Christ and that such partaking does not require the local, corporeal presence of Christ’s body because the Holy Spirit is able to unite the believer with Christ regardless of the physical space between them.

I think Calvin gets it right, but whatever your understanding, and whether your church calls it the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion, I hope it's a regular part of your Christian life.


via The Reformed Reader

A Wesleyan who loves Calvin

From a Gospel Coalition interview of Fred Sanders:

Definitely sign me up for the "Wesleyans who love Calvin" club. I teach excerpts from The Institutes every year, and I've worked through the whole book cover to cover five times (three with students in seminar). There is no better way to learn the craft of theology than to work through The Institutes. Calvin shows his work: he always lets you know what he's after, what he's afraid of, and why he's doing things. He brings you along with him, and requires an active and responsive reader who is willing to make costly decisions all along the way. He never just lists a series of truths in the "Ten True Facts About Angels" style; he is always asking, at every point, "What can we be saying the gospel itself while teaching on every subject in theology?" He called The Institutes little, and really believed it: his commentaries of course dwarf it; his Job commentary alone equals its page count. He wrote a systematic theology that succeeds in pushing the readers out to Scripture itself, where they have to deal with the living God, not Calvin. The first time I read The Institutes I was in seminary, and he talked me into infant baptism with his testament-spanning arguments. The third time I read The Institutes I was a new professor, and he talked me out of infant baptism in spite of himself, because of the weakness of his argument. I don't think I ever leave a Calvin experience unchanged.

Turning from Calvin to the Calvinists, I'd also be willing to host the meetings for a "Wesleyans who love Calvinists" club. I'm going to ignore the left wing of the Reformed tradition here (it's not just the Wesleyan tradition that has generated its share of liberals), and focus on the side of the tradition that is either evangelical or within hailing distance of conservative evangelicalism.

The Reformed tradition has produced a whole series of great theologians. On my very short list would be Jonathan Edwards, John Owen, Ursinus and Olevianus (that is, the Heidelberg Catechism in particular, but also Ursinus's exposition of it), and Karl Barth (I said "within hailing distance"). But many more are waiting in the wings; Calvinism has a deep bench.

There are probably a lot of reasons why so many good theologians come from this tradition. But the most important is surely that the Reformed have excelled at getting the central message of Scripture right. They emphasize the glory of God, and trace all of God's ways back to that ultimate horizon in one way or another. I think that has been a beacon that has drawn a lot of the most faithful and creative theological minds to that tradition. On a related note, I think Ephesians is the key text for the Reformed tradition at large. Not that Ephesians trumps any other book in the canon, but Calvinists have long known that in that letter, Paul stands tip-toe on the highest point of the revelation and insight given to the apostles, and gives a panoramic overview of all God's ways. I don't just mean the occurrence of words like election and predestination in chapter 1, I mean the vast sweep of God's purposes in the recapitulatory economy (1:10), and how it makes known his eternal character as Father, Son, and Spirit. Calvinists from Thomas Goodwin to John Webster get this. If I were to start a theological Ephesians fan club, more Calvinists would show up than anyone else.

Sanders goes on to explain why he's a self-described Wesleyan and not a Calvinist, so be sure to read the entire interview.

As a Calvinist who loves Wesleyan hymnody and the evangelical focus of the Wesleyan tradition I really appreciated Sanders' perspective. I can remember as a child hearing "Calvinist" used as a pejorative from the pulpit, though I'm pretty sure what the preacher meant by Calvinists was anyone who believed in "eternal security" i.e. Baptists. By the same token it's unfair for Calvinists to call Wesleyans "Pelagian" or "semi-Pelagian". The bottom line for me is that regardless of how we choose to label ourselves, if we can confess the grand central truths of the faith as expressed in the ecumenical creeds, we're all part of the one holy catholic and apostolic church -- which contra our "uppercase c" Catholic friends -- includes the heirs of the Protestant Reformation.

The indispensable Christian virtue

I came across this quote from Augustine via John Calvin in Letters to a Young Calvinist by James K. A. Smith.

A saying of Chrysostom's has always pleased me very much, that the foundation of our philosophy is humility. But that of Augustine pleases me even more: 'When a certain rhetorician was asked what was the chief rule in eloquence, he replied, "Delivery"; what was the second rule, "Delivery"; what was the third rule, "Delivery"; so if you ask me concerning the precepts of the Christian religion, first, second, third and always I would answer, "Humility."' (Institutes 2.2.11)

Look for more on Smith's book later. It's a gem! You can read the first few chapters, I mean letters, here.

Wide-angle view of the cross (part 1)

Yesterday I wrote about two ways of looking at the cross, both Biblical, and both essential. They are the close-up view and the wide-angle view. The work of the cross is a unified whole, but it's like a many-faceted diamond. It is personal, but it's also cosmic. Today and tomorrow I'm posting quotes from two of my favorite theologians expounding on the cosmic dimensions of what Jesus of Nazareth accomplished by his death and resurrection. I hope you'll find them thought-provoking and encouraging.

First up, here's John Calvin commenting on John 12:31.

The Lord now, as if he had already succeeded in the contest, boasts of having obtained a victory not only over fear, but over death; for he describes, in lofty terms, the advantage of his death, which might have struck his disciples with consternation. Some view the word, judgment (πρίσις) as denoting reformation, and others, as denoting condemnation. I rather agree with the former who explain it to mean, that the world must be restored to a proper order; for the Hebrew word mishpat, which is translated judgment, means a well-ordered state. Now we know, that out of Christ there is nothing but confusion in the world; and though Christ had already begun to erect the kingdom of God, yet his death was the commencement of a well-regulated condition, and the full restoration of the world.

Calvin on John 13:31.

. . . in the cross of Christ, as in a magnificent theater, the inestimable goodness of God is displayed before the whole world. In all the creatures, indeed, both high and low, the glory of God shines, but nowhere has it shone more brightly than in the cross, in which there has been an astonishing change of things, the condemnation of all men has been manifested, sin has been blotted out, salvation has been restored to men; and, in short, the whole world has been renewed, and every thing restored to good order.

John 12:31 and 13:31 -- two great verses to meditate on this week. And the references are easy to remember!

Quotes from Calvin, Commentary on John

Marilynne Robinson interview

Michael Horton talks with Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Marilynne Robinson about many of the themes she explores in her writings, such as the dehumanizing affects of Darwinism, the significance of John Calvin, and the complexity of grace. Robinson is the author of Home, Gilead, and The Death of Adam. This is a fascinating and wideranging conversation! She likes Dietrich Bonhoeffer too. Robinson is an author I'll be reading in 2010.

LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD HERE

Glory to the newborn King

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Luke 2:10-14

The following comes from a sermon John Calvin preached at Cathedral St-Pierre sometime in 1559 or 1560. Calvin preached straight through the Bible so it's hard to say if this was actually delivered at Christmas-time. In any case I've been edified by reading through it as part of my Advent devotions the past few days. As always Calvin faithfully exposits the text and then draws out an encouraging, pastoral application for his hearers.

We also have to note that, in the history which St. Luke here recites, on the one hand we learn how the Son of God emptied Himself of everything for our salvation, nevertheless, on the other hand He did not fail to leave certain and infallible testimony that He was the Redeemer of the world promised from all time. Even though He took our condition, He was able to maintain his heavenly majesty. Both sides are here shown to us. For our Lord Jesus Christ is here in a manger and He is, as it were, rejected by the world. He is in extreme poverty without any honor, without any reputation, as it were, subject to servitude. Yet He is magnified by Angels from Paradise, who do Him homage.

In the first place, an angel bears the message of His birth. Then the same one is accompanied by a great multitude, even by an army, who are all present and appear as witnesses sent by God to show that our Lord Jesus Christ, being thus abased for the salvation of men, never ceases to be King of all the world and to have everything under His dominion.

Then the place, Bethlehem, gives proof that it was He who had been promised from all time. For the prophet Micah had spoken thus: “And thou Bethlehem, though thou be in great contempt, as a village which is not much to look at, and which is not densely populated, yet from thee shall come forth to Me He Who is to govern My people, and His goings forth will be from all eternity.” We see, then, here on the one hand how our Lord Jesus Christ did not spare Himself, so that we might have easy access to Him and that we might not doubt that we are received even as His body, since He willed to be not only a mortal man clothed in our nature, but, as it were, a poor earthworm stripped of all good. May we never doubt, then, however miserable we may be, that He will keep us as His members.

On the other hand, we see Him here marked, as it were, by the hand of God, so that He may be received without any difficulty, as Him from Whom we must expect salvation, and by Whom we are received into the Kingdom of God, from which we were previously banished. For we see that He has in Himself a Divine majesty, since the Angels recognize Him as their superior and their sovereign King. We ought not to doubt, when we shall be under His keeping, that He has all that is needed to maintain us. Let us know, however much He was abased, it in no wise takes away from His Divine power nor hinders us from being securely under His guidance.

Now we shall bow in humble reverence before the majesty of our God.

Calvin, Sermon on the Nativity of Jesus Christ

Bowing with you at the manger. Merry Christmas!

The freedom and familiarity of prayer

John Calvin commenting on Psalm 102:2

Having elsewhere spoken more fully of these forms of expression, it may suffice, at present, briefly to observe, that when God permits us to lay open before him our infirmities without reserve, and patiently bears with our foolishness, he deals in a way of great tenderness towards us. To pour out our complaints before him after the manner of little children would certainly be to treat his Majesty with very little reverence, were it not that he has been pleased to allow us such freedom. I purposely make use of this illustration, that the weak, who are afraid to draw near to God, may understand that they are invited to him with such gentleness as that nothing may hinder them from familiarly and confidently approaching him.

Calvin, Commentary on the Book of Psalms (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1949)

Calvin's definition of faith

Throughout the year I've been posting items from A Theological Guide to Calvin's Institutes -- a collection of essays on various subjects from John Calvin's magnum opus. Reading it has whetted my appetite to delve into the Institutes themselves (maybe I'll tackle that in 2010). Joel Beeke contributes one of my favorite chapters in which he discusses several large topics from Institutes Book 3 as indicated by the title "Appropriating Salvation: The Spirit, Faith and Assurance, and Repentance". Here's some good stuff on faith and assurance.

Calvin's doctrine of faith affirms the basic tenets of Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli and also discloses emphases of his own. Like Luther and Zwingli, Calvin says faith is never merely assent (assensus), but involves both knowledge (cognitio) and trust (fiducia). He affirms that knowledge and trust are saving dimensions of the life of faith rather than notional matters. Faith is not historical knowledge plus saving assent, but a saving and certain knowledge joined with a saving and assured trust (3.2.14). Calvin held that knowledge is foundational to faith. Knowledge rests upon the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures in general as well as the gospel in particular. Faith originates in response to the Word of God. Faith rests firmly upon God's Word; it always says amen to the Scriptures. Hence assurance must be sought in the Word and flows out of the Word. Assurance is as inseparable from the Word as sunbeams are from the sun. (pp. 277-278)

Consequently, Calvin's formal definition of faith reads like this: "Now we shall possess a right definition of faith if we call it 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" (3.2.7). Calvin stresses that faith is assurance of God's promise in Christ and involves the whole man in the use of the mind, the application to the heart, and the surrendering of the will (3.2.8). Assurance is of the essence of faith. (p. 279)

We can be thankful that Calvin's Word and Spirit-driven doctrine of faith recovered for the church the truth that saving faith is more than obedient submission to what the church teaches. Saving faith is personal, cognitive, experiential and as certain as the promises of God upon which it rests.

Quotes from Beeke, A Theological Guide to Calvin's Institutes, ed. David W. Hall and Peter A. Lillback (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2009)

On the boundary with Calvin

The Calvin Quincentennial rolls on with this month's Christianity Today cover story by Timothy George -- John Calvin: Comeback Kid. I like George's analysis of why Calvin's ideas have been gaining traction in recent years.

First, postmodernity has placed us all "on the boundary"—on the border between the fading certainties of modernism and new ways of understanding the world and its promises and perils. Calvin, a displaced refugee, speaks directly to the homeless mind of many contemporaries looking for a place to stand. "We are always on the road," Calvin wrote. Like Augustine, Calvin reminds us that our true homeland, our ultimate patria, is that city with foundations that God is preparing for all who know and love him. In the meantime, believers are "just sojourners on this earth so that with hope and patience they strive toward a better life."

Second, while Calvin is often depicted as an intellectualist and theological rationalist, in fact his theology is pervaded by mystery. No less than Luther, Calvin recognized the supreme paradox of the Word made flesh. He is a theologian of both/and, not either/or: divine sovereignty and human responsibility, written Word and living Spirit, the church invisible and the church congregational, already and not yet. Calvinists are willing to live with tension and even antinomy in this world, seeing through a glass darkly in the hope of the glory that shall be revealed. This is what it means to live faithfully in a broken world, one still yearning for full redemption.

Read the whole thing

This month's CT also includes admiring essays by non-Calvinists Ben Witherington and Roger Olson.

T.H.L. Parker's Calvin

Here are a couple more excerpts from Portrait of Calvin by T.H.L. Parker:

On Calvin at home:

It is strange to realize that for most of his life Calvin's house was full of young children. No doubt the womenfolk protected both him and the children from one another, but at any rate he passed his life, not in the seclusion of a monastery or in humanistic quiet but in the midst of the pleasures and worries of domesticity. The Institutes was not written in an ivory tower, but against the background of teething troubles. (p. 80)

On Calvin's greatest disappointment:

Switzerland, Germany, England, France, Poland also, Italy, and the Netherlands—to all these countries Calvin spoke with an almost apostolic voice. They might not always like what he had to say, but they paid heed to his opinion. He had accomplished much for the Churches. In Switzerland and France, the Protestant Churches were united. But the greatest prize of all eluded his grasp. The union of all the Churches of the Reformation which he, with Cranmer, so greatly desired, was not to be.

The great Protestant Council was once so close, provoked by the convening of the Council of Trent. Bullinger had written to Cranmer, urging that England should not send a delegate to the Council of Trent. He replied that the King had never thought of doing so, but added that he had recommended that "His Majesty grant his assistance, that in England, or elsewhere, there might be convoked a synod of the most learned and excellent persons, in which provision might be made for the purity of the Church doctrine, and especially for an agreement upon the sacramentarian controversy." On the same day he wrote in similar terms to Calvin, who replied that he would cross ten seas to attend such a council.

But when Cranmer invited Melanchthon, the scheme shipwrecked, for his fear of the long journey was augmented when he consulted the stars, of which he was a hopeful student. The Reformed Churches stayed apart, and Calvin's desire has yet to be fulfilled: "Would that the union between all Christ's Churches upon earth were such, that the angels in heaven might join their song of praise." (pp. 123-124)

Calvin in England, working with Cranmer to unite the churches of the Reformation -- it's one of the tantalizing "what if's?" of church history. This little book is a splendid introduction to the life and thought of John Calvin. I highly recommend it.

Calvin the "terrible"

I've started to read DG's attractive reprint of Portrait of Calvin by T.H.L. Parker, originally published in 1954. Englishman Parker is still alive at age 92 and contributed a preface to this edition. I'm finding this a delightful book. I know delightful isn't a word that first comes to mind when thinking about the subject of John Calvin, but in Parker's hands the life and times of the man (not the legend) come alive. Nor is this the whitewashed treatment of an admirer, though Parker is one. Parker presents the "essential harmony of the man" along with "dissonances that spoil the harmony."

Parker would go on to write a full-scale biography of Calvin, but as the title indicates this is more of an introductory sketch. Any modern work on Calvin is almost obliged to address the popular caricatures and misconceptions about his life and thought. This Parker does in his typically witty way in the introduction.

This presentation may come, I hope, as a pleasant surprise to some who have always in their imaginations seen Calvin with horns and wreathed about with the incense of brimstone—those who, had they the organizing of Madame Tussaud's, would move his not very lifelike effigy from its present position in the Main Hall into the Chamber of Horrors. Perhaps I may be allowed two anecdotes to illustrate the irrational aversion against him among my brethren in the Church and also the popular ignorance of his position in church history.

A new clerical acquaintance and I were talking of John Knox. He was reminded of John Calvin.

"Calvin, now," he said, "he was terrible."

"Terrible," I asked, "how?"

"I mean Calvin," he said, "you know about Calvin, don't you?"

He plainly thought I had not caught the name. Calvin was terrible. No one, surely, who called himself a loyal Anglican could dissent from the verdict that Calvin was terrible.

"But why terrible?" I asked.

He found the question difficult. It was axiomatic that Calvin was terrible. But in what way, it was not easy to say, especially if one knew of him only by hearsay. But he was a strong-minded man and refused to be beaten.

"He was terrible," he replied firmly. And then, with inspiration, "I mean, look how bad-tempered he was."

Then there was the man in an evening class. Romans 3:21 and following was being expounded. The teaching of the Council of Trent was mentioned and also that of Luther and Calvin. He interrupted me at the name: "Calvin," he said, "he was all on about predestination, wasn't he?"

Bad temper and predestination! A gruesome picture, certainly, but rather too bad to be true. (pp. 21-22)

That makes me chuckle every time I read it because it's so like the picture of John Calvin that I grew up with, and that still persists today. Kudos to DG for making this book widely available once again!

Theology as doxology

For Calvin...doxological theocentrism shaped everything. His compassionate concern that everyone should know God's grace was rooted in a deeper desire, namely that everyone should glorify God by a life of adoring worship for the wonder of his work in creation, providence, and salvation, fully recognizing the realities that the Reformational slogans sola Scriptura, solo Christo, sola fide, sola gratia, and soli Deo gloria, were put in place to guard. Knowledge of God as Creator and Redeemer, holy, just, wise, and good, comes to us by Scripture alone, not by our own independent insight or guesswork. The blessings of redemption—reconciliation with God, the gift of righteousness and sonship, regeneration, glory—come to us by Christ alone, not by any fancied personal merit or any priestly mediation on the part of the church. Christ and his gifts are received by faith alone, not earned by effort. That very faith is given to us and sustained in us by grace alone, so that our own contribution to our salvation is precisely nil; all the glory for it must go to God alone, and none be diverted to us. We are simply the sinners whose need of salvation is met by the marvelous mercy of him who "did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all."

J.I. Packer, A Theological Guide to Calvin's Institutes, ed. David W. Hall and Peter A. Lillback

The next best thing to being there

The "Calvinpalooza" (HT: R. Scott Clark) hits Geneva this week with the much anticipated Calvin500 conference. You can follow all the goings on here.

John Calvin the preacher

Calvin preached with only an open Greek or Hebrew Bible in front of him. No notes. No manuscript. He did this at the rate of 20 sermons a month. Astounding! Learn more about Calvin as servant of the Word of God on this week's Christ the Center podcast. I discovered this program a couple of months ago and have really enjoyed it. It's kind of like NPR for Reformed Presbyterian types (note the jazzy piano intro).

In all seriousness, speaking of preaching, if you think of it pray for me this Sunday as I'll be preaching at our 8:30 service. I most definitely will be using a manuscript.

To know the Father

In this ruin of mankind no one now experiences God either as Father or as Author of salvation or favorable in any way, until Christ the Mediator comes forward to reconcile him to us.

John Calvin, Institutes 1.2.1

Early this morning as I looked at Samuel sleeping in his crib I was impressed all over again what a blessing it is to be a father. An even greater blessing than knowing the joy of being an earthly father is the joy of knowing God as my Father through the mediating work of his Son. Jesus makes very clear, and all the gospel writers reflect it, that to know him is to know the Father. Is, in fact, the only way to know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in a saving way, i.e. Matthew 11:27, Luke 10:22, John 1:18, John 8:19, John 14:6, etc. This was a radical (and dangerous) claim to make in orthodox God-fearing first century Palestine, and it's a radical claim to make in our pluralistic societies of today.

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Galatians 4:4-6

Calvin goes to China

It's no secret that the church is growing fastest in the Global South and China. The growth of Christianity in Africa and South America has been dominated by Pentecostalism, as well as a welcome resurgence of conservative Anglicanism. In China though the spread of Christianity has taken on a distinctly Reformed cast. Andrew Brown, a correspondent for the British newspaper The Guardian, reports that Calvinism is flourishing in China.

As always with articles like this one some of the more colorful (and funny) characterizations should be taken with a grain of salt ("Calvinists despise pentecostalists. They shudder at unbridled emotion. If they are slain in the spirit, it is with a single, decorous thump: there's to be no rolling afterwards.") Nevertheless some of Brown's speculations are perceptive as to why Calvinism appeals more to new Chinese Christians than Roman Catholicism or other variants of Protestantism. Wouldn't it be something if the impetus for a worldwide revival of Christianity grounded on the five solas of the 16th century Reformation came from 21st-century China!


HT: Between Two Worlds

If Calvin was on the worship committee

WTS professor Larry Sibley gives ten worship planning ideas from John Calvin.

1. Remember the necessary practices and always include them every week: the Word, prayer, the meal, and sharing.

2. Keep the traditional ordo: gathering, Word, sacraments, sending.

3. Let the Scriptures come through.

4. Connect the reading and preaching to prayer and the sacraments; balance the necessary practices as means of grace.

5. Provide a full diet of prayer.

6. Use the Lord’s Prayer as the backbone of praying.

7. Let the people pray: singing the prayers, Psalms, creed, Song of Simeon in the language of the people.

8. Focus on baptism to comfort the troubled consciences of believers.

9. Feed the poor from the Lord’s Table.

10. End by singing the Nunc Dimitis, the Song of Simeon (Luke 2:29-32).

Read the whole thing.

Calvin's pietas

Part of my purpose for these occasional posts on John Calvin, in this 500th anniversary year of his birth, is to help correct some common misconceptions about the theological tradition that bears his name. This excerpt from an essay by Joel Beeke gives the lie to the idea that Calvin propounded a "theology of the head" that gave no place to personal piety.

John Calvin's Institutes has earned him the title "the preeminent systematician of the Protestant Reformation." His reputation as an intellectual, however, is too often disassociated from the vital spiritual and pastoral context in which he wrote his theology. For Calvin, theological understanding and practical piety, truth, and usefulness, are inseperable. Theology primarily deals with knowledge -- knowledge of God and of ourselves -- but there is no true knowledge where there is no true piety.

Calvin's concept of piety (pietas) is rooted in the knowledge of God and includes attitudes and actions that are directed to the adoration and service of God. Right attitudes include heartfelt worship, saving faith, filial fear, prayerful submission, and reverential love. "I call 'piety' that reverence joined with love of God which the knowledge of his benefits induces," Calvin concludes (3.2.14).

This love and reverence for God is a necessary concomitant to any knowledge of him and embraces all of life and its actions. As Calvin says, "The whole life of Christians ought to be a sort of practice of godliness." Thus, for Calvin pietas includes a host of related themes, such as filial piety in human relationships, and respect and love for the image of God in human beings.

The goal of piety, as well as the entire Christian life, is the glorifying of God -- perceiving and reflecting the glory that shines in God's attributes, in the structure of the world, and in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (3.2.1). Glorifying God supersedes personal salvation for every truly pious person...

Joel R. Beeke in A Theological Guide to Calvin's Institutes, ed. David W. Hall and Peter A. Lillback (pp. 271-272)

The twofold grace of faith in Christ

Christ was given to us by God's generosity, to be grasped and possessed by us in faith. By partaking of him, we principally receive a double grace: namely, that being reconciled to God through Christ's blamelessness, we may have in heaven instead of a Judge a gracious Father; and secondly, that sanctified by his Spirit we may cultivate blamelessness and purity of life.

John Calvin, Institutes 3.11.1