Dr. Joel Beeke: Why is Calvin Important Today?

Dr. Joel R. Beeke serves as President and Professor of Systematic Theology, Church History, and Homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He has been in the ministry since 1978 and has served as a pastor of his current church (HNRC in Grand Rapids) since 1986. He is also editor of the Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth, editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books, president of Inheritance Publishers, and vice-president of the Dutch Reformed Translation Society. He has written, co-authored, or edited sixty books and contributed over fifteen hundred articles to Reformed books, journals, periodicals, and encyclopedias. His Ph.D. (1988) from Westminster Theological Seminary is in Reformation and Post-Reformation Theology. He is frequently called upon to lecture at Reformed seminaries and to speak at conferences around the world. 

Romans 11:33-12:1,2

The exaltedness of the closing verses of Romans 11 cannot be understood without the imperative of Romans 12:1,2.

Beeke wrote to 36 friends and asked them to tell him “gut-level” the three reasons why they think Calvin is still important today. He was hoping for the response of ten. He got responses from 24 of them with 70 pages of material single-spaced. This is address is a digest of why these scholars believe we need.

21 Reasons Calvin is Important Today (as digested from these scholars)

The Bottom Nine

1. Calvin the historian who unfolds redemptive history

2. Calvin the polemiscis combating error and heresy

3. Calvin the pilgrim, longing for home eschatological hope

4. Calvin the traditionalist, so long as that tradition is biblical

5. Calvin the catechist, especially the training of children

6. Calvin the compassionate, showing sypmathy to the poor and establishing the diaconate

7. Calvin the worker, establishing the sacredness and the joy of work

8. Calvin the law promoter, teaching the law as a rule of life for believers

9. Calvin the writer, promoting God’s kingdom through scores of treatises on an astonishing number of subjects

The Top Twelve (in Reverse Order)

12. Calvin the Educator: models for us a proper recognition of the importance of education, especially seminary training which serves as the backbone of the Christian enterprise. Calvin viewed the support of seminaries as one way we keep the Sabbath holy. The seminaries are the backbone of the church. Without the seminaries you would have no well-trained pastors and missionaries to proclaim the gospel. Therefore, the tremendous need today is that you and I would storm the mercy seat for the multiplication of faithful seminaries.

11. Calvin the Socio-Theologian:Calvin models for us today the wide ranging impact of his theology on Western European and North American civilization, the rise of democracies…. We can trace the influence of Calvin’s theology on the whole fabric of life. Calvin permeated all of society, including civil government. Calvin had much to say about the freedom of the individual, rights of the working man. Calvinsim has encouraged scholarship of all kinds, inclduing scientific resarch and the rights of people to limit the powers of their governments. He brought the fabric of society into conformity with God’s word.

10. Calvin the Evangelist. Models how to teach and how to practice evangelism and missions. God’s evangelism causes our evangelism and God gives us the honor to be his coworkers in this vast field so that we can particiapte in the honor of constituting his own son governor over the entire world. We must be in constant prayer for the extension of Christ’s kingdom. We evanglize because God commands us, God leads us by his own example, it is a duty we owe to God, because we want to glorify God, and please him, and act out of gratitude to him, and because it is our duty to our fellow sinners.

Four concentric circles in Calvin’s evangelism: He evangelized in his own church, from his pulpit. By extension in Geneva, then thirdly in Europe as a whole, then international missions.

9. Calvin the Pastor. Models how to shepherd faithfully the sheep of God under the Chief Shepherd. Pastored in Geneva 25 years, in Strasbourg for three years. He visited, counselled, and prayed for his people as an example of selfless service on behalf of His Master’s flock.

Calvin’s pastoral heart was forged in the furnace of affliction. He knew what it was to identify with the suffering of those with heartaches and bereavement. The centrality of the word characterized Calvin’s pastoral ministry.

8. Calvin the Pietus: Modles how to bring all of life under the rubiric of a biblical view of life, a right attitude toward God that plays itself out in every day life: true knowlege, heartfelt worship, saving faith, childlike fear, prayerful submission, reverential love. One supreme goal: the glory of God. It is comprehensive, not a single area of life that does not come under the umbrella of the glory of God.

Theologically: Piety is the root of our mystical union with Christ. The Holy Spirit and saving faith is the double bond of piety. Central doctrines of justification are presented by Calvin in terms of piety.

Ecclesiastically: Piety is nurtured through the word and through the church. The goal of preaching is to promote piety and the church nurtures piety through the means of grace (preaching, sacraments, prayer). The ought to of faith that embraces full assurance, and the is of faith – the reality of the believers life, the struggle of the Christian life. The sacraments for Calvin were exercises of piety to promote a right attitude toward God. The piety of grace received and gratitude given in the Lord’s Supper.

Practically: Book 3, Chpts 6 – 10 of the Institutes summarized: prayer, repentance (mortifying of sin), self-denial, cross-bearing, obedience (to God’s will – the essence of piety).

All of life is about a right relationship to God: Corem Deo – In the Face of God; we always have to do with God. To be a Calvinist is to be obsessed with God.

Calvin has taken away the heirarchy of the Roman Catholic system and called every man, woman and child to live lives dedicated to God in every area of their lives.

7. Calvin the Commentator. Models what good commentaries ought to be. Luther has his pet peeves, but Calvin is altogether different, no repetition – just expouding the text. No commentary in the entire reformation era that matches Calvin, doing exegeis under Scriptures inherant authority, and he does it in such a teachable way. Sometimes his explanations are surprising simply because he is letting Scripture control.

6. Calvin the Churchman: Models for us what it means to maintain a high view of the church without idolozing her and without falling into the absolutism of Rome. Calvin was concerned that people did not understand what Jesus meant in Matthew 17 about the Church:

The status of the church: She belongs to Christ: “MY church”
The substance of the church: “upon this rock” –
The success of the church: “I will build”

Therefore Calvin is concerned about the worship of the church, the heart of the Bride. Therefore he maintains the regulative principle of worship.

5. Calvin the Trinitarian: Models how to hold an exalted trinitarian view of God. The Puritans excelled in this area.

Calvin stressed the Fatherly sovereignty of God, not just his sovereignty – an exalted viw of God in his Fatherly predestinating grace. Moves believers to a serious childlike fear of God.

But no less did Calvin focus on Jesus Christ, especially his three-fold office of Prophet, Priest and King, as well as an emphasis on our mystical union with Christ.

Calvin has been called THE theologian of the Holy Spirit.

4. Calvin the Preacher: Models for us how to preach God’s word faithfully and expositorally. For Calvin to live was to preach. He put his sermons before everything else. Every sermon was preached by two ministers: the external man behind the pulpit and the internal minister – the Holy Spirit – who applied the word to human hearts. Calvin models the power of exposition followed by simple, powerful, conversational application, aiming at the level of the people.

3. Calvin the Christian: Models how to live an experiential Christian life of suffering.

2. Calvin the Theologian: Models systematic theology in the Institutes for the church rather than for the academy. Didactic and practical and contemporary value.

1. Calvin the Exegete: Models for us how to handle the text of Scripture with conscientous fidelity.