Matt Capps Christianity, Faith, Philosophy, Religion

Church History Teasers (Part 11): Jonathan Edwards ‘Treatise Concerning Religious Affections’

Brief Outline of ‘A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections’

Reason for Writing: To argue that true Christianity consists of Holy affections, and provide characteristics that allow one to properly distinguish proper affections.

Part I: Concerning the Nature of the Affections, and their Importance in Religion

a.    True Religion Consists in Holy Affections
b.    True Religion is Evidenced in Affections
c.    Proof from Doctrine

Part II: Showing What are No Certain Signs that Religious Affections are Truly           Gracious, or that They Are Not.

a.    That Religious Affections are to not be humanly discerned by,
1.    Greatness
2.    Body
3.    Fervor
4.    Knowledge
5.    Appearance
6.    In Certain Kinds
7.    In Certain Order
8.    With Time and Zeal
9.    Expression Of Praise
10.    Great Confidence
11.    Moving Testimony

Part III: What are Distinguishing Signs of Truly Gracious and Holy Affections

a.    Great Affections are,
1.    From Divine Influence
2.    Founded on Morals
3.    Arise from Divine Illumination
4.    Attended to with Certainty
5.    Attended with Humility
6.    Attended with a Changed Nature
7.    Show Christ Temper
8.    Soften the Heart
9.    Show Beauty in Proportion and Symmetry

b.    Religious Affections are manifested in the Fruit of Christian Practice, and is the Chief sign to ourselves and others.

‘A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections’

Edwards writes out of a concern for the great spiritual revivals of his day, and the endurance of those who have professed such a faith. He attempts to lay the solid foundation which enables more successful labor in practical ministry by removing the obscurity in discerning true religion from fake by using the word of God as direction in these manners.

Edwards begins by considering the trials of men. He argues that trails benefit in this task of allowing one to distinguish the true religion against false, they refine and purify ones religious beliefs, and when proved true, results in honor to God by love and joy in his son, Jesus Christ. For Edwards, religion is not true unless it moves the affections with the excitement of the heart towards the obedience of the will. For affections are the ‘spring of men’s actions’, taking hold of the whole man, and causing him to earnestly engage in the work of God.

Edwards rightly points out that many may exhibit ‘religious affections’ but one must be discerning in observing their temper of mind, what these affections come to, and if these affections endure the test of time. Of those who seem to be not affected by the Word of God, Edwards rightly contends that they are blind, therefore their hearts cannot be strongly impressed and moved by such things.

For balance, Edwards adds that we ought not to condemn all affections; also that we must not approve all affections. One should not judge another by how great or high their affections are, or what effects it has on their body, neither how they articulate their words in reference to religion, nor should one judge their affections by the amount of scripture understood.

Edwards also adds that this treatise does not provide a perfect interpretive grid to apply in discerning if others affections are true or false, God has not given us such rules for certainty in this endeavor. Moreover, one should not look for ‘all signs’ that pertain in every situation, as seeking to understand the state of ones religion. We all have what Edwards call’s the ‘defect of the eye’.

In contrast, Edwards does contend that true affections arise in the heart from the divine, as outlined in scripture. It is the Spirit of God which dwells in man and is the spring of these affections, and this is communicated in a proper way as not to contradict God’s nature. These affections arise from the enlightenment of the man’s mind through the revelation of God, ‘Holy affections are not heat without light’. Beyond that, these affections are evidenced in the exercise and fruit of Christian practice. In conclusion, Edwards argues that ‘Christian practice is a great and distinguishing sign of true and saving grace’, it is ‘the chief mark of grace’.

Part 1: Tertullian’s Apology

Part 2: Athanasius ‘On the Incarnation’

Part 3: Saint Benedict ‘The Rule’

Part 4: Gregory’s ‘Pastoral Rule’

Part 5: Anselm’s ‘Proslogion’

Part 6: Bernard of Clairvaux ‘On Loving God’

Part 7: Erasmus ‘In Praise of Folly’

Part 8: Luther ‘Concerning Christian Liberty’

Part 9: Calvin ‘Institutes of Christian Religion’

Part 10: Baxter ‘The Reformed Pastor’

Matt Capps Christianity, Faith, Philosophy, Religion, Thoughts

True Theological Humility

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”– Jesus

Andy Naselli points to D.A. Carson’s commentary on this passage with a powerful warning against “showy humility” displayed as poverty of spirit. Read the whole thing here.

The most powerful quote deals with an issue that many ‘thinking Christians’ (which we all are in some form or another) need to be on guard against;

“I suspect that there is no pride more deadly than that which finds its roots in great learning, great external piety, or a showy defense of orthodoxy. My suspicion does not call into question the value of learning, piety, or orthodoxy; rather, it exposes professing believers to the full glare of this beatitude. Pride based on genuine virtues has the greatest potential for self-deception; but our Lord will allow none of it. Poverty of spirit he insists on—a full, honest, factual, conscious, and conscientious recognition before God of personal moral unworth. It is, as I have said, the deepest form of repentance.”

True poverty of spirit is an honest evaluation and recognition of spiritual bankruptcy, with confession and repentance before God. Yet true poverty of spirit leads to great security for those who follow Christ. In the gospel we know that what God has accomplished through Christ is our only hope, and while the Spirit convicts us of sin He also gives us confidence in God’s loving grace.

Pride is so ugly, and most ugly in Christians. May we always guard against thinking that we have somehow “arrived” in our own understanding. It would seem to me that the more we grow in our understanding of the gospel the more conscientious we become of our dependence on Him who saves us.

Naselli also points to Doug Moo on theological humility.

Matt Capps Christianity, Culture, Faith, Personal, Philosophy, Religion

The Process of Conversion in a Post-Christian America

A few days ago Will Toburen shared a few paragraphs out of Lesslie Newbigin’s book “Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture”

Newbigin’s argument was simple: Once the Christian faith becomes “one among many religions” it will loose its “God-given hold upon objective reality.” Newbigin was simply restating what W.E. Gladstone had written over 140 years ago, here is the point,

“What Gladstone foretold is essentially what has been happening during the 140 years since he wrote those worlds.  The result is not, as we once imagined, a secular society.  It is a pagan society, and its paganism, having been born out of the rejection of Christianity, is far more resistant to the gospel than the pre-Christian paganism with which cross-cultural missions have been familiar.  Here, surely, is the most challenging missionary frontier of our time.”

In other words- the society in which we live is more resistant to the gospel than the pagan societies. Why?- Because this is a “post-Christian society”!

It’s one thing to bring the gospel to a culture that has never heard of the good news of Jesus. It another thing to proclaim the gospel in a society that has rejected the very movement that centers on that message. When someone in our society talks about “Jesus”, or the “church”, or even “Christianity”- we must never assume that everyone is operating with the same understanding of those “words.”

There are sectors of the church that are not aligned to a Biblical faith. This is the the most challenging missionary frontier of our time and calls for us to clearly proclaim the biblical Gospel, not American Christian religion- what ever that is in your mind.

This also has massive implications on how we go about telling others the good news of Jesus Christ.

Jonathan Dodson makes a few good points on “how culture affects conversion”,

“America has changed. We cannot assume our listeners possess the same knowledge and experience that we did, which is precisely why it is so crucial that we exercise pastoral wisdom through contextualization…

Like the former missionaries, we must reconfigure our understanding and expectation of how people undergo gospel change and how disciples are made. We must be more open to “process conversions” while also guiding that process toward full commitment to Jesus as Lord. Our goal should not be to replicate our personal conversion experience, but to preach the gospel effectively so that we can make disciples in the emerging post-Christian context. We must heed the failures of the past and call people, not to our experience of conversion, but to the experience of the Spirit’s converting, whatever that process may entail.“

Matt Capps Christianity, Culture, Faith, Religion

Matt Chandler: A Gospel Illustration

Thank you to Trevin Wax, and Justin Taylor for highlighting this powerful illustration!

Matt Capps Christianity, Culture, Faith, Philosophy, Religion, Thoughts

An Investigation of Christian Cliché’s (Part 1): “Let Go…and Let God!”

“Just let go…and let God.”

Theology is never formed in a vacuum. It is very important to look at the environment from which a theological idea is formed. I have often heard people say “I just need to let go and let God.” People usually say this type of thing when they have reached the end of their rope, or are tired of attempting to understand the meaning of specific instances in their life. Why do we say this? Where did this idea of “letting go…and letting God” come from? And what does it mean? I think a little history will shed light on these questions;

Before the 20th century America had been a “protestant” friendly nation (intellectually speaking). This all changed as there was a shift at the university level and in culture as a whole. One issue directly tied to the purpose of this post concerns the universities and their shift in focus on education- towards the practical sciences and managerial theory rather than the old moralism of “the past.” Following this shift came the reaction of the cultural ‘taste makers’ which was to push evangelical Protestants out from the academic arena.

The intellectual impact of this shift had massive impact on the evangelical mind. Mark Noll describes these implications well in his book The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind.

He writes of the “major problems” for the life of the evangelical mind. “First, it gave a new impetus to general anti-intellectualism” and this shift “had a chilling effect on the exercise of Christian thinking about the world.” (115)

With the historicity of the Bible and supernaturalism being called into question by the cultural elites of the ‘new America’, this might have seemed like the logical move for Christians- escapism. But, while the reaction of many Christian’s rightly promoted a supernatural worldview they failed to give proper attention to the world.

Noll rightly argues that “the problem came not with the goal, but with the assumption that, in order to be spiritual, one must no longer pay attention to the world.” He then quotes Martyn Lloyd-Jones;

This anti-intellectual movement “contributed to a reduction of interest in biblical theology and deeper scholarship. No Christian in his right mind will desire anything other than true holiness and righteousness in the church of God.” He continues that the proponents of the anti-intellectual movement “had isolated one doctrine, holiness, and altered it by the false simplicity contained in the slogan, “Give up, let go, and let God.” If you want to be holy and righteous, we are told, the intellect is dangerous and it is thought generally unlikely that a good theologian is likely to be a holy person…”

At its very core this anti-intellectual ideal has escapism as its end. So while the universities and culture began to buy a more naturalistic and skeptical bent in their worldview, Christians “escaped” the world rather than answering it’s objections. So when it came to the difficult questions of life, questions that would ideally be met with an intellectually sufficient answer… the answer became “just let go, and let God.”

In the end, it seems that “keeping oneself unspotted from the world” became translated into reduced space for “academic debate, intellectual experimentation, and nuanced discrimination between shades of opinion” since the “world” had shifted into intellectual skepticism with no room for a supernatural worldview.

The saying “give up, let go, and let God” became a clever way to say that ‘if we use our minds too much we might loose our faith.’ Which, in my own mind, is an illogical statement. Sure, our minds have been forever scarred by the horrible reality of sin, but human intellect has not been completely devastated. Think about it…

Matt Capps Books, Christianity, Faith, Religion

Church History Teasers (Part 10): Richard Baxter’s ‘The Reformed Pastor’

Brief Outline of ‘The Reformed Pastor’

Chapter 1: The Oversight of Ourselves
a.    The Nature of this Oversight
b.    The Motives behind this Oversight

Chapter 2: The Oversight of the Flock
a.    The Nature of this Oversight
b.    The Manner of this Oversight
c.    The Motives behind this Oversight

Chapter 3: Application
a.    The Use of Humiliation
b.    The Duty of Personal Catechizing and Instructing the Flock (a particular recommendation)

Part 1: Motives behind this Duty
a.    Article 1: The benefits of the Work
b.    Article 2: The Difficulties of the Work
c.    Article 3: The Necessity of the Work
d.    Article 4: The Application of these Motives

Part 2: Objections to this Duty

Part 3: Directions for this Duty
a.    Article 1: On Bringing your people to submit to Instruction
b.    Article 2: On Being Effective

Reason for Writing: “Can any reasonable man imagine that God should save men for offering salvation to others, while they refuse it themselves; and for telling others those truths which they themselves neglect and abuse? Many a tailor goes in rags, that maketh costly clothes for others; and many a cook scarcely licks his fingers, when he hath dressed for others the most costly dishes. Believe it, brethren, God never saved any man for being a preacher, nor because he was an able preacher; but because he was a justified, sanctified man, and consequently faithful in his Master’s work. Take heed, therefore, to ourselves first, that you he that which you persuade your hearers to be, and believe that which you persuade them to believe, and heartily entertain that Savior whom you offer to them. He that bade you love your neighbors as yourselves, did imply that you should love yourselves, and not hate and destroy yourselves and them.”

‘The Reformed Pastor‘

Baxter charges that too many men have taken up the work of the ministry with self seeking motives and pride which leads to negligence and other sins, these things must be ‘plainly rebuked’. Ministers must set themselves to the work of catechizing and instructing all devoted individuals who are committed to their care. These committed individuals must be vigorously taught the principles of religion in the most edifying way, so that personal conference, examination, and instruction will be to the church’s advantage. Baxter contends that these ministerial duties are outlined in scripture and to be done in order. Failing to perform these necessary duties proves a poor discharge of the pastor’s ministry and leads to ignorance among the flock.

Baxter argues that ministers should, “take heed to yourselves, lest your example contradict your doctrine…and be the greatest hinderers of the success of your own labors.” Therefore, ministers should abound in good works of charity and benevolence. For Baxter there is weakness in negligence and ministers above all others should labor vigorously. Baxter argued that ministers must take into account their weaknesses of their depraved nature and the temptations of the prince of darkness, for many eyes are upon them. Rightly so, for God uses fit men to do great works. God has assigned each pastor to each flock of believers, beyond that Baxter reminds pastors of the duty to labor for the unconverted. Ministers are to labor in order to give sound advice and wisdom in order to build up all in the knowledge of Christ. The goal is to embrace every opportunity to build up the strength and understanding of all who inquire, even if it requires church discipline.

The salvation of souls is the hopeful end of all diligent labors, the most necessary of all truths. Baxter then rightly reminds ministers that “our work must be carried with great humility”, as men possessed with the Holy Spirit of God. For this is the honor of being an ambassador of God, and there are many excellent privileges in caring for the Church that God, which was purchased with His own blood. With that said, Baxter reminds the reader that it is necessary that one earnestly implore God for assistance in the oversight of His children. Seeking God’s guidance is a sure guard against pride. Even those who are overseers should avoid the trap of self-denial and even confess of their own sins; Baxter contends that it is his desire to deal closely with his heart and others. Baxter earnestly longs that pastors seek Christ with humility, and study God’s word devotedly. The necessity of informing ones understanding as to speak with clarity is further encouraged by Baxter’s reminder that “the everlasting life or everlasting death of our fellow men is involved in it.” Baxter then reminds ministers of a greatly neglected aspect of church life, discipline, which if gone unpracticed can bring disadvantage and corruption to the cause of Christ.

Lastly, Baxter expounds upon the personal catechizing and instructing the flock, which is the “most hopeful means of the conversion of souls.” This duty informs the judgment on the essential principles which changes the will by the efficiency of the truth. The orderly building up of the flock is the chief means of reforming the church. Though this work is difficult, it is necessary, for “every Christian is obliged to do all he can for the salvation of others.” Baxter calls ministers to rouse up themselves to the work before them. In conclusion, Baxter argues that the whole of the ministers duty consists of believing Christ, and using external means of grace in avoiding former sins. Ministers should take special pains with their own hearts to excite belief in the Gospel, prepare themselves with prayer, and extend charity to all people.

Part 1: Tertullian’s Apology

Part 2: Athanasius ‘On the Incarnation’

Part 3: Saint Benedict ‘The Rule’

Part 4: Gregory’s ‘Pastoral Rule’

Part 5: Anselm’s ‘Proslogion’

Part 6: Bernard of Clairvaux ‘On Loving God’

Part 7: Erasmus ‘In Praise of Folly’

Part 8: Luther ‘Concerning Christian Liberty’

Part 9: Calvin ‘Institutes of Christian Religion’

Matt Capps Christianity, Culture, Faith, Philosophy, Religion, Thoughts

Carson, Keller, and Piper: “The Gospel and Churchianity”

In every generation of  Christendom it seems that certain thinking Christians earn large platforms of influence among their peers. Some for good reasons – some for bad reasons. In my opinion D.A. Carson, Tim Keller, and John Piper are three of those men. Three men who have good things to say.

For most evangelical Christian’s, these names are not new. Nor is what they have to say new. But, I think it is good to be reminded of how the Gospel changes us, often- in different ways.

In every culture and generation there is always the danger of distorting the core message of the Gospel with cultural slants. I think its important to be students who think through the implications of cultural influence, especially in “the American church culture.”

Listen to these three conversations…

Preaching the Gospel against “Churchianity”

The Gospel and Sanctification

The Gospel and Conquering Sin

Any thoughts?…

Matt Capps Christianity, Faith, Religion, Thoughts

Helping People Think Through “Suffering and Evil”

I was talking with a Bible teacher recently who brought up the difficulty of walking people through horrible instances of suffering. A few years ago I did some reading for a Seminary class on “Evil and Suffering”, and I found the following helpful.

When it comes to human suffering and evil there will always be questions. How should we, as Christians, respond to the questions that grow out of the deepest pains of human existence? Honestly, there are some questions, like “why”, that have no clear explanation- when it comes to the particulars.

For what its worth, here are some thoughts on suffering and evil, and some things to keep in mind when thinking through these issues.

Types of Evil

It is often helpful to identify the ‘type’ of evil that someone has experienced, or has questions about, when walking alongside them through dark times.

  • Natural Evil is that which does not involve human willing and acting, but is merely an aspect of nature that seems to work against human welfare.
  • Moral Evil is that which is the direct result of human volition.
  • Physical Evil is suffering caused by corruption in the body.

These “types”  will allow for a little more clarity when approaching a specific subject within the umbrella of “suffering and evil.”

Biblical Themes Concerning Suffering and Evil

When walking alongside someone who has experienced suffering and evil it is important to keep the following themes in mind.

1. The Theme of ‘Order in Creation’

God created the world in a purposeful and orderly way. One of the aspects of this particular world is that God’s creatures have the power of volition, which can be used to bring about good or evil. Within this particular good world, it must be stated that the possibility for evil and suffering became present at the fall. It must also be stated that God created this particular world with comprehensive foreknowledge of the actions each creature will could and would make.

2. The Element of Satan

Satan is first and foremost, a personal being. Beyond that Satan was once an angel who deceived himself into believing that he could oppose God successfully. Satan is seen as an adversary or accuser. Often Satan will tempt people in order that they do wrong; in doing so Satan attempts to builds his case of accusation.

In the NT Satan resists the children of God. Satan uses deceit in order to fulfill this function. Satan not only accuses people before God, but provokes humans against one another. On a personal level, Satan torments individuals with ‘self-accusation’ arising from sin.

It is important to remember that Satan may influence creation, but Satan cannot force people to sin. Satan tempts and influences people to do wrong, but human beings are held responsible for their own actions and sin.

3. The Element of Creaturely Rebellion

It was not God’s desire that man have the burden of the knowledge of good and evil. But, the first man and woman exercised their freedom and rebelled against what God desired for them. God must judge mankind for disobedience against His revealed will.

Furthermore, ‘The entrance of sin into the good creation affected not only the relationship of these beings to God, but also brought deleterious effects upon all of creation’.

4. The Element of Divine Justice and Discipline

God is holy and just, and will judge all sin. Evil is present in the world due to human rebellion which demands Divine punishment. Within the Bible we also find instances where evil occurs within the context of divine discipline. Evil is never ascribed to God, but occurs due to the lack of goodness in people.

This is often viewed as the ‘basic solution’ to all other themes of suffering and evil. In its most basic sense, ‘God must judge people for their sins’. As one author argues, this view ‘imposes suffering with the expectation that its punishment will lead to repentance or at least to a cessation of evil acts’.

Again he explains, this view ‘considers affliction as a visitation from God…God disciplines his people, collectively and individually, that they may be brought closer to him. The purpose of God’s discipline is often to teach a lesson, to train and to mature his children through suffering’.

5. The Element of Spiritual Maturity

In some instances evil and human suffering result in the maturity of a believer. It is not that evil and suffering are brought on persons in order to advance them, but rather, through these instances one grows in their faith as they trust in God, the one who creates and sustains. Times of intense suffering often cause the believer to cast all their pain upon God, which results in finding God’s grace as sufficient.

This view argues that through some instances of suffering, one gains entry into a fuller knowledge of God. This is obviously dependant on the attitude of the sufferer.

“Three major ideas are included in this approach, (1) since the world is evil and often in the control of wickedness, the godly must wait for the disposition of wickedness and righteousness which is sure to come. (2) In this probational period, the depth of a persons faith is submitted to a rigid test, the result of which reveals the true character of his or her faith. (3) In the New Testament, especially, this struggle is seen as inevitable for the Christian life, and hence is evidence in itself that one is a Christian.”

6. The Themes of Redemption and Eschatology

The term ‘redemptive’ can refer to many closely related theories. Some evil may be redemptive that it is suffered for others, or instead of others. Some evil may be redemptive for the sufferer in the sense that God sometimes brings about good, in spite of, and even through, suffering.

There are instances where God uses evil for His redemptive purposes. The ultimate conclusion of God’s redemptive purposes involves God’s final triumph over evil through the deliverance of the saints, the defeat of Satan and those who have rejected Christ, and the unveiling of the new heaven and earth in which God’s people enjoy Him forever.

Again, there will be complete victory over evil in the end times. This solution to suffering sees the answer to the problem of evil and suffering as existing beyond the present conflict.

7. The Element of Mystery

There do remain some things that we do not understand completely. Such as, the way God orders the worlds affairs. One author notes, “all of the solutions found in the Bible are legitimate approaches to the problem of evil. Each principle has a specific application, but none of them claims to be the total or final answer. There is always an element of mystery”.

Christ; Suffering and Evil: Our Only Hope

Ultimately, the Gospel of Jesus Christ- the good news- is the only comfort we can provide someone who has faced the horrible tragedies of life.

I think Tim Keller puts it well;

“The death of Jesus was qualitatively different from any other death. The physical pain was nothing compared to the spiritual experience of cosmic abandonment. Christianity alone among the worlds religions claims that God became uniquely and fully human in Jesus Christ and therefore knows firsthand despair, rejection, loneliness, poverty, bereavement, torture, and imprisonment. On the cross he went beyond even the worst human suffering and experienced cosmic rejection and pain that exceeds ours as infinitely as his knowledge and power exceeds ours. In His death, God suffers in love, identifying with the abandoned and godforsaken. Why did he do it? The Bible says that Jesus came on a rescue mission for creation. He had to pay for our sins so that someday he can end evil and suffering without ending us.

If we were to ask the question: “why does God allow evil and suffering to continue” and we look at the cross of Jesus, we still do not know what the answer is. However, we now know what the answer isn’t. It cant be that He doesn’t love us. It cant be that he is indifferent or detached from our condition. God takes our misery and suffering so seriously that he was willing to take it on himself.

So, if we embrace the Christian teaching that Jesus is God and that he went to the cross, then we have deep consolation and strength to face the brutal realities of life on earth. We can know that God is truly Immanuel- God with us- even in our worst sufferings” (Tim Keller)

For further reading on the subject of ‘Evil and Suffering’ I recommend the following books;

1. D.A. Carson, How Long O Lord’: Reflections on Suffering and Evil, Baker Academic, 2006.

2. John Piper and Justin Taylor, Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, Crossway, 2006.

3. John S. Feinberg, The Many Faces of Evil: Theological Systems and the Problems of Evil, Crossway, 2004.

Works Used In Writing this Post

[1] Millard Erikson in ‘Christian Theology’ (1998).
[2] David P. Nelson’s chapter on ‘The Work of God’  in ‘A Theology for the Church’ (Edited by Daniel Akin, 2007).
[3] Bruce A. Little’s class notes on ‘The Problem of Evil’.
[4] The “themes” are a combination of ideas presented in three different books. John P. Newport’s ‘Life’s Ultimate Questions’ (1989); L. Russ Bush’s ‘Handbook for Christian Philosophy’ (1991), and David P. Nelson’s chapter on ‘The Work of God’  in ‘A Theology for the Church’ (Edited by Daniel Akin, 2007).
[5] The section quoted from Timothy Keller’s ‘The Reason for God’ (2008).

Matt Capps Christianity, Faith, Religion

Church History Teasers (Part 9): Calvin ‘Institutes of the Christian Religion; Book Three’

Brief Outline of ‘Institutes of Christian Religion’ (Book 3)

Reason for Writing: This section of the ‘Institutes of Christian Religion’ shows us how, through the spirit we can share in the grace of Jesus Christ, and the fruits this produces.

Section One: Calvin expounds on how we benefit from the work of Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Section Two: Calvin defines faith and expounds upon its distinguishable characteristics.

A definition of ‘faith’: “a firm and sure knowledge of the divine favor toward us, founded on the truth of a free promise in Christ, and revealed to our minds, and sealed on our hearts, by the Holy Spirit.”

Certain Aspects of Faith:

a.    Supernatural Knowledge Supplied by God
b.    Certainty in God
c.    Believing The Promises of God in Experience
d.    Understanding the Nature of the Flesh

Section Three: Calvin expounds upon the relationship between regeneration and faith, and a proper understanding of repentance.

A proper understanding of ‘repentance’: a “real conversion of our life unto God, proceeding from sincere and serious fear of God; and consisting in the mortification of our flesh and the old man, and the quickening of the Spirit.”

Certain Aspects of Repentance:

a.    Exhibits a transformation of the person
b.    Flows from a healthy fear of God
c.    War against flesh, quickening of the Spirit

Lastly, Calvin explains the implications and application of a proper theology of Repentance

Institutes of Christian Religion (Book 3)

Calvin rightly begins by asserting that no matter what we do in life, salvation is not achievable in any sense, it is bestowed in and through Christ, which is a biblical theme. Calvin then explores the relationship of man and the Holy Spirit as the means to enjoying Christ, noting that it is by the grace and energy of the Holy Spirit alone that man is given faith for salvation.

As for faith, Calvin notes that Christ is the object of our faith, and we cannot find our way to Him without the guidance of the gospel. This guidance comes from the Word of God itself, asserting that there is an inseparable link between the Word and faith. Yet, Calvin rightly guards against misconceptions that faith is mere mental assent to biblical facts, but a realization of God’s will towards us which is sacred and absolutely true. Calvin remains true to the bible in asserting that it is through the bible that one rightly ‘knows’ God. Calvin then posits that God brings men to this realization through fear of wrath and indignation. With this as the mode of operation, Calvin proposes that through these circumstances men seek God for safety and are assured in His deep interest in their welfare. It is the mercy of God that allows such faith in the truth of His word.

This mercy was revealed on the cross of Christ, as a pledge of love. Christ work lifts the dark veil that blinds the minds of unbelievers from seeing the light of the Gospel of the glory of God. Christ’s work also changes the heart, which is, by nature, deceitful and doubtful. From this Calvin proposes the following definition of faith, “a firm and sure knowledge of the divine favor toward us, founded on the truth of a free promise in Christ, and revealed to our minds, and sealed on our hearts, by the Holy Spirit.” Yet one must remain certain that God’s word is true, even when experience brings about doubt. The end result must prove that faith surmounts the difficulties faced in life.

The result of this faith is then discussed in the last section of our reading on repentance. Calvin asserts that without repentance, faith is useless. Calvin argues that repentance is produced by faith, therefore faith precedes repentance. The ordering of faith then repentance, verses repentance then faith is a matter of conjecture based on biblical text. Therefore it becomes problematic to assert that Calvin remains true to biblical teaching here, or to the contrary. It can be said that true faith does not exist without repentance; this statement does follow biblical evidence. Based on these foundational beliefs, Calvin defines repentance as follows, “real conversion of our life unto God, proceeding from sincere and serious fear of God; and consisting in the mortification of our flesh and the old man, and the quickening of the Spirit.”

Calvin proposes the aspects of repentance as a transformation of the person, which flows from a healthy fear of God, and lastly exhibits itself in the spiritually powered waging of war against the flesh. All of these aspects come from the Christians union with Christ, from a ‘new birth’ which is wrought by the Spirit. For Calvin this was the means by which God purified the church. Lastly Calvin points that it is only by God’s grace that we are not charged with the sin that would make us sinners in need of judgment. Overall, Calvin does stay true to a theology derived from the Bible. But on some matters, which can only be drawn from inference, such as the timely order of faith and repentance, Calvin draws more from a philosophical standpoint. This is not problematic when understanding the institutes as a foundational handbook to understanding Calvin’s theological system, which was meant to accompany the readings of his commentaries.

Part 1: Tertullian’s Apology

Part 2: Athanasius ‘On the Incarnation’

Part 3: Saint Benedict ‘The Rule’

Part 4: Gregory’s ‘Pastoral Rule’

Part 5: Anselm’s ‘Proslogion’

Part 6: Bernard of Clairvaux ‘On Loving God’

Part 7: Erasmus ‘In Praise of Folly’

Part 8: Luther ‘Concerning Christian Liberty’

Matt Capps Books, Christianity, Faith, Religion

ESV Study Bible Online…Free in March!

Justin Taylor writes;

“Crossway announced…that they were making the Online ESV Study Bible available free to anywhere, anywhere, for the entire month of March.

A couple of features worth noting:

  • You can listen to the audio of the ESV from narrator David Cochran Heath.
  • You can take and save your own notes in the Online ESVSB.
  • You can highlight words and verses in several different colors.”

See Taylor’s blog for a full list of the study notes and theology articles! I would fully endorse the ESV Study Bible to anyone who is a student of the bible.